13 victims in China fireworks blast identified as left-behind kids

THIRTEEN victims, including two dead and 11 injured, in a blast in an illegal fireworks workshop in south China, have been identified as left-behind children, local work safety authorities said yesterday.

"Left-behind children" refer to those who are cared for by a single parent or grandparents when their parents go to work in cities.

The accident occurred at about 8 am Thursday at a private fireworks workshop in Yanghui Village in Hezhou City, killing an 8-year-old student at the scene.

Thirteen more, including a 61-year-old person, suffered severe burns. Of them, a 9-year-old girl died late Thursday at hospital, the Hezhou Work Safety Bureau said.

Nine injured are still in danger of death.

The 13 kids, aged between 7 and 15 and including 11 girls and two boys, are all students from a local primary school.

Yang Youji, the village's Party chief, told Xinhua that around 70 percent of the village's young adults have gone to work in places such as the booming neighboring province of Guangdong.

Two owners, Yang Wanwen and Xie Qingsui, have been in police custody on charges of employing child labor and producing dangerous goods without production license.

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