China Scene: North

Forgotten firework kills farmer, injures mate

A farmer surnamed Bai from a village in Wuyi, a county of Hebei province, has been killed in an explosion while disposing of abandoned explosives in an old building that was formerly a firework assembly line.

Ban and his workmate dug out the explosives on Friday after demolishing the building, and decided to let it off themselves rather than contact the emergency services. Bai was killed instantly when, after stepping forward to check the apparently dead ignition, the explosive went off, also seriously injuring his workmate.