HANOI, Vietnam — An explosion at a military-run fireworks factory Saturday morning killed at least six workers and injured 10 others, state media reported.
The online newspaper VnExpress quoted Maj. Gen. Le Quang Dai, the military chief in Phu Tho province, as saying the bodies of six workers were pulled from the wreckage and the explosion was under control.
That unit of the factory employs some 300 workers, mostly women, the paper said. It quoted Dai as saying only several dozens were working at the time of the explosion because it was Saturday. Authorities had tried to isolate the explosion to prevent it from two explosives warehouses nearby, he added.
About 1,000 residents living near the factory had been evacuated, the newspaper said.
A local police officer told The Associated Press that the explosion could be heard 10 kilometers away and it leveled some houses and shattered glass windows in others. He spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The factory is the only facility in Vietnam that produces fireworks to be used for Lunar New Year festivals and other major public events.