Two killed in China blast

Two people were killed and 17 injured in an explosion Monday near a school in south China's Guangxi Zhuang region, police said.

Witnesses told Xinhua the explosion took place around 7 a.m., when the man riding a three-wheeled motorcycle passed the entrance to the Balijie Primary School in the popular tourist city of Guilin.

A man and a woman were killed. The injured include 10 students. The rest of the injured were adults who were accompanying students to the school or passers-by, officials said.

The motorcycle first caught fire and then exploded with a huge sound that could be heard from far, a witness said.

A dozen motorcycles were damaged near the explosion site and window panes of some cars and shops were also broken.

Police said safety inspections will be conducted across the city, in a search for illegal explosives.