One man died and 41 were injured after a chemical factory explosion in northwest China's Gansu Province on Friday, official sources said.

The explosion in chlorine tanks occurred at 5:30 p.m. Friday at a paraffin plant in Yongjing County, local government said.

The injured have been sent to hospital for treatment.

Wang Xiaoming, deputy director of Gansu Health Department, said it would be a further three days before they could be sure that the injured were out of danger.

The cause of the accident was being investigated.

(Xinhua News Agency November 1, 2008)