An explosion ripped through a family-owned workshop in Zhejiang province, killing 13 people and injuring 14.The blast in the lock- processing workshop in Wenzhou city was set off when sparks from a polishing machine ignited thick dust, officials told Xinhua News Agency.
The workshop was operating illegally.
The explosion sent flames raging across nearly 300 square meters.
Safety standards are regularly flouted in the mainland, and workplace accidents are common despite repeated government pledges to improve regulations and oversight.
Nearly 50,000 people died in work-related accidents in the first nine months of 2011. AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
