BEIJING, Dec 27: An explosion rocked a Chinese village and a construction lift plummeted to the ground in a provincial capital on Saturday, killing 32 people, the official Xinhua news agency said.

The blast in Donggancheng village, in central Henan province, happened just after 1am when detonators being illegally stored by a villager were set off, Xinhua said, citing officials with the local work safety office.

The explosion flattened more than 10 homes, killing 15 people and injured nine others, Xinhua said. Police have detained the owner of the house where the blast occurred, which he had rented out, it added.

Separately, a lift carrying workers at a residential development being built in Changsha, Hunan province, crashed to the ground at around 7:30am, killing at least 17 people and seriously injuring another, Xinhua said.—Reuters