At least seven people were killed and more than 200 were injured yesterday when about 70 tonnes of explosives ignited aboard two trucks in southwestern Guizhou province.
The explosion occurred at around 11.30am, sending a plume of dark smoke high into the sky.
The blast damaged many buildings, shattered windows over a radius of two kilometres and left a hole as large as a football pitch, according to photographs taken at the scene and reports by journalists from various mainland media organisations.
Xinhua quoted a search-andrescue official at the scene as saying the accident occurred when the trucks stopped for repair works near a petrol station in Fuquan city, roughly 100 kilometres east of the provincial capital, Guiyang.
The petrol station was destroyed, though no additional explosions were triggered with its fuel.
The vehicles were transporting unspecified types of explosives to Guiyang from the adjacent province of Hunan, and the blast occurred in Machangping town, the report said.
The cause of the explosion was not immediately known and an investigation is ongoing.