China cement plant explosion kills nine

An explosion at the quarry of a cement plant in southern China killed nine people and left one person missing, the official Xinhua News Agency reported, citing local authorities.

The blast occurred at around 2:30pm at the Hailuolongshan cement plant in Yingde city in the southern province of Guangdong, when workers were unloading explosives off three trucks, the report said, citing a city government statement. The trucks were carrying 13t of explosives and workers had already unloaded 6t when the accident happened, Xinhua said.

Employees of the quarry and workers who transported the explosives from a local private explosives company were among those killed, Xinhua said.

The city has set up an emergency response team and sent experts to remove the unexploded explosives, while an investigation into the cause of the blast is under way, Xinhua said.