S China explosion kills 2, injures 44

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Two people were killed and 44 injured in an explosion near a school in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday morning.

A man and a woman were killed in the blast, and 39 are receiving hospital treatment for injuries, police with Guilin City said.

As of 5 p.m., 11 of the injured were in serious condition, according to police.

The explosion struck at about 7:10 a.m. as students were arriving at Balijie Primary School in Lingwu County in Guilin, said a statement issued by Guilin city publicity authorities. Some classrooms were damaged in the explosion and classes have been suspended.

A stationery store owner surnamed Qin said she was assisting a student who wanted to buy a notebook as the explosion happened.

"The student asked me to get the notebooks. I was just turning around when it exploded and window glass shattered everywhere," Qin said.

A man surnamed Chang who suffered leg injuries was receiving treatment at the city's No. 2 People's Hospital. He said he took his daughter to school earlier than usual because of the school's flag-raising ceremony on Monday morning.

"When I saw my daughter off to the school gate, the blast happened behind me," he said. His daughter was not injured.

The Ministry of Public Security has dispatched a working team to Guilin and Guilin authorities have set up their own investigation team. Police in Guilin have begun a search for illegal explosives in the city.

Witnesses saw a man on a three-wheeled motorcycle pass the entrance to the school as the blast took place.

One body could be seen at the site, which was cordoned off by local police.

"First, the motorcycle caught fire and then exploded with a tremendous noise that could be heard from far, far away," a witness told Xinhua.

Motorcycles were scattered around the blast site and the windows of nearby cars and stores were broken.

Guilin, a popular tourist city in Guangxi, is famous for its karst landscape scenery.

Further probe is under way.

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