Beijing - At least 13 people died and two were injured after an explosion ripped through an illegal fireworks plant in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong, the government said on Sunday.

The blast late Saturday afternoon hit an abandoned kiln that was used for illegal fireworks production near Qianwang village in Shandong's Weifang city, the State Administration of Work Safety reported.

Rescue workers found three bodies and pulled two injured people out of the rubble left by the blast by late Saturday, the administration said.

The official Xinhua news agency said 10 more bodies were recovered on Sunday.

The owner of the plant told police that four men and 12 women were working there at the time of the explosion, the agency quoted local officials as saying.

Police arrested the owner and were still investigating the cause of the blast, it said.

Small-scale, illegal fireworks production remains common in many rural areas of China despite government crackdowns and the promotion of larger businesses. //DPA