Authorities in north China's Hebei province have ordered all fireworks factories to halt production following an explosion which killed at least 29 people and injured more than 100.

A wounded victim in hospital after a fireworks factory blast in Wangkou township of Xinji, North China's Hebei province, July 29, 2003. [newsphoto.com.cn]

The factories are required to remain shut until they pass safety inspections, the China Central Broadcasting Station said Wednesday.

The blast Monday evening in Guoxi village killed 29 people, including the factory manager, and injured more than 100.

Around 169 people were working at the time and only 30 of them escaped when the factory collapsed, the radio station said.

An official in charge of work safety in the provincial capital Shijiazhuang said Wednesday rescue crews had finished sifting through the rubble and had retrieved all the victims buried.

"The deaths won't increase by much. The clean-up work at the scene has been completed," said the official, surnamed Zhang.

"Seventy-one people are still in hospital."

Many of victims have serious injuries, including severe burns, hospital officials said.

Initial investigation shows that the blast was caused by heat-induced ignition of gunpowder following several days of unusually hot weather.

The radio station said the blast happened after workers took the gunpowder outdoors to dry under the sun because it was damp and lumpy, causing the explosives to ignite in the heat.

The force of the explosion was so strong that it partly destroyed an office building more than 100 metres (330 feet) away while cars and motorcycles were set alight, the China News Service said.

The factory was built in 1984 and had employed 220 workers, the radio station said.

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