Sixteen people were killed and some people were injured in a firecracker storehouse explosion Sunday afternoon in Central China's Henan Province, source with the local government said.

The explosion occurred between 4 and 5 p.m. Sunday in Linqi Town of Linzhou City, according to a local official in charge of work safety.

The storehouse was ignited by fireworks, the official said, noting that 16 people attending a temple fair nearby were killed on the spot. But the number of the injured was not available.

The injured people were sent to local hospitals for treatment, said the official. Officials rushed to the site for rescue operations.

(Xinhua News Agency January 30, 2006)