China port city blast death toll rises to four

SHANGHAI: The death toll from a huge explosion in eastern China rose to four yesterday as police said two people who were initially reported missing had died when they mishandled illegal explosives.

Authorities have said that a man who manufactured and sold explosives had asked relatives to dispose of the material in the port city of Ningbo.

DNA tests on human tissue found at the site of Sunday’s blast confirmed that they were the remains of the father and cousin of the suspect, police said in a statement.

The blast took place on Sunday in a vacant lot of a crumbling lightindustrial area, reducing small buildings to rubble and shattering windows of nearby apartments.

Authorities previously said two people were killed and 19 others injured.

A 33-year- old suspect surnamed Shan, who had been wanted by police in the northeastern province of Liaoning since late October, was arrested on Monday night.

Explosives containing aluminium powder and barium nitrate were shipped from Liaoning to his relatives in Ningbo.

His relatives took the material to the vacant lot on Saturday and began to take it apart. They resumed on Sunday, when it blew up.

Police did not indicate why the suspect had been making explosives. — AFP