At least 16 people died and 46 were injured, 12 of them seriously, after dynamite exploded near a mine in north-western China's Ningxia region, the government said on Friday.
The explosion at the Dafeng mine in Ningxia's Shizuishan city came late Thursday as workers were preparing to use the dynamite for blasting work, the State Administration of Work Safety said, reported dpa.
State media said the explosion killed six workers, five people who were passing the site in a vehicle, and several miners who lived in nearby huts.
The workers were handling more than 2 tons of dynamite for blasting rock when the accident occurred, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Rescuers were still searching the site for more victims, the agency said.
Police detained two people from the Guangdong Hongda Blasting company for questioning pending an investigation into the cause of the accident, it said.