Blast in building at N China coal mine kills at least three

TAIYUAN, March 20 -- A blast in a three-story office building at a colliery killed at least three people Friday in north China's Shanxi Province, local police said.

The explosion occurred at 4:30 p.m. in the Dongfang Zhenxing Coal Mine in Yuxian County, Yangquan City, the Shanxi Provincial Police Department said.

Three rooms collapsed in the blast. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation.

Also Friday, an explosion rocked several workshops in central China's Henan Province but no casualties were reported.

The blast occurred when four workers accidentally ignited an unidentified explosive when they were cooking in a workshop at about 1:30 p.m. in Yichuan County, said Wu Ligang, head of Yichuan.