An explosion at a fireworks plant in China kills at least 26 people and injures dozens of others

An explosion at a fireworks plant in a central Chinese province killed at least 26 people and injured 61 others, state media reported Tuesday, prompting the halting of all firework manufacturing near the site.

The blast occurred at a fireworks plant in the city of Changsha in Hunan province on Monday afternoon, China's official news agency Xinhua said.

State media China Daily said that the plant was operated by the Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Display Co. in the Changsha-administered, county-level city of Liuyang, a prominent fireworks powerhouse in the country.

Changsha mayor Chen Bozhang said at a media briefing that a search and rescue operation at the scene largely has been completed, but verification of the casualties and identification of the victims was still underway.

Chen said that the local government expressed condolences for the victims and apologized to society, including the families and injured people.

"We feel extremely pained and deeply remorseful," he said.

Ding Weiming, the Changsha Emergency Management Bureau's party secretary, said that the site had a large amount of products or semifinished products catching fire, causing continuous, sporadic blasts.

Large quantities of gunpowder stored in the warehouse area also threatened the safety of rescue teams, while the collapse of walls, columns and the roof in the factory area created ruins, with people trapped and routes blocked, he said.

All fireworks and firecracker manufacturers in Liuyang have been ordered to halt production, local media reported said.

Aerial footage from state broadcaster CCTV on Tuesday showed white smoke billowing in certain areas of the site, with facilities collapsed or damaged.

Hundreds of rescuers were deployed to the scene and residents in danger zones were evacuated by authorities, citing high risks from two black powder warehouses near the explosion site, the Xinhua report said.

Authorities were investigating the cause of the blast and police have detained the person in charge of the company, Xinhua said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged "all-out efforts" to search for people who are still unaccounted for and to save the injured. He called on authorities to investigate the cause swiftly and pursue serious accountability, the report said. Xi also ordered effective risk screening and hazard control in key industries and the strengthening of public safety management.

To prevent other accidents during the operation, rescuers adopted measures such as spraying and humidification to eliminate potential hazards.

They also deployed several robots to help with the search and rescue operation.

Liuyang has a long history of fireworks production. The Guinness World Records organization said that the first accurately documented firework, the Chinese firecracker, was attributed to Li Tian, a monk who lived near Liuyang during China's Tang dynasty dating to around 618 to 907 C.E.

Li discovered that putting gunpowder in enclosed hollow bamboo stems created loud explosions and bound crackers together to create the traditional new year firecrackers to drive out evil spirits, Guinness said.

In February, China reported two deadly explosions at fireworks shops around the Lunar New Year period.