At least nine people were killed when an explosion took place at a chemical plant in northeast China, the official media said today.

The explosion and fire occurred at about 10:10 p.m. last night at a three-storey building at Fuxing Chemical Plant located at Lamadian Town in Heilongjiang Province.

Fourteen people were inside the building when the accident happened, local government said.

Nine people died at the scene while the other five people fled the building, the Xinhua reported, adding that the fire has been extinguished by firefighters.

Cause of the explosion remained unknown, as investigation and search efforts are still underway.

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