Explosion at warehouse containing fireworks kills 15 in northern China

A warehouse containing fireworks exploded in northern China, killing 15 people, a local authority said Monday.

The explosion Sunday morning happened in Ningjin county in Hebei province, which borders Beijing, and also left two other people seriously injured, according to the microblog of the county's propaganda office.

The explosion shattered nearby windows and even those of a flour factory about 1 kilometer (mile) away, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. Photos on the news website 163.com appeared to show the warehouse's roof had blown off.

Ningjin county said that the cause of the explosion was under investigation and that one person had been detained.

China is the world's largest producer of fireworks, which are widely used to celebrate the Lunar New Year.