At least 16 people were killed and 43 others injured in a factory blast in Anhui Province on Sunday, the local government said.

A blast ripped through the workshops of Jingxin Mining Ltd. Co. in Fengyang County, Chuzhou City, at 3:17 AM, according to the county government.

Most of the killed were employees of the company while the injured are residents living nearby.

The injured have been sent to the hospital.

The privately-owned company, reporting 20 million yuan (US$2.9 million) in fixed assets and about 100 employees, produces and processes about 300,000 tonnes of quartz sand every year. Its products are sold in both the domestic market and in Southeast Asia and Europe, according to a webpage of the county's official website.

Phone calls to the company went unanswered.

Xinhua reporters are rushing to the site of the accident.

(Xinhua News Agency June 21, 2009)