By Mahmut Atanur
BEIJING (AA) – An explosion that tore through a prefabricated house in northwest China has left at least 10 people dead and 157 others injured.
State news agency Xinhua reported Tuesday that overnight rescue efforts were conducted at the site in Xinmin Township in Shaanxi province where several nearby buildings -- including a local hospital -- were damaged or destroyed Monday afternoon.
As of 11 p.m. (1500GMT), 113 people had been hospitalized, among them 11 who are in intensive care.
According to an initial investigation, the prefabricated house had been built within a residential compound, and the cause behind the blast has yet to be determined.
The Huashang newspaper had earlier cited local residents as saying that the incident "might be related to unlicensed storage of explosives".