Three members of a family have been killed and two others injured in an explosion when they were making dynamite illegally at home in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The explosion occurred at 11:50 a.m. Saturday in the Guozhu village, Zhenxiong county, killing a villager Liu Longchun, his mother-in-law and brother-in-law, said acting county magistrate Zhang Jin on Sunday.

Liu's wife and brother were injured and have been sent to hospital. They were in stable conditions on Sunday.

Initial investigations suggested the family were making the dynamite to produce fireworks without permission.

Police are still investigating the cause of the accident, while the local government has launched an inspection in the county to prevent such accidents from happening again.

(Xinhua News Agency January 20, 2008)