At least eight people died and five others were injured in a blast Friday at a detonator and dynamite warehouse at a coal mine in Chenzhou City of central China's Hunan Province, a local official said.

Xie Guanghui, head of the Yongxing County government in Chenzhou, told Xinhua that rescuers did not know if more people were buried in the rubble.

The blast occurred at 3:30 PM at the Qingshanbei mine.

(Xinhua News Agency April 17, 2009)