CHANGSHA - Three people died and nine others were injured after an explosion went off in a rural home in Hunan province Monday, the local government said Tuesday.

The accident happened at 4 pm Monday in Jinjia'ao village of Chenxi county in Huaihua city, the city government said in a press release.

It said the ill-fated house belonged to a villager named Xie Baiyou, and the three dead, including an elderly and two children, were all members of his family.

The injured villagers are being treated at several hospitals in the county. Two of cases were serious, according to the document.

Rescuers found that dynamite had been stored in the house and believed the explosives were used for fishing, as blast fishing was widely practised in the village.

Police have launched an investigation.