The explosion occurred in an industrial park near Chengdu in Jiangan County, Xinhua said. 

Intense fires gutted a three-story production building belonging to the Yibin Hengda Science and Technology Company.The windows of nearby buildings were shattered.

The cause of  the blast is not yet known, the reports quoted local officials as saying on Friday. 

According to state news agency Xinhua, an investigation into the blast has begun.

A fire, which broke out early on Thursday evening due to the explosion, was put out by 11:30pm local time (3:30pm GMT), the government said in a statement.

Images on Chinese social media showed a huge fire and plumes of smoke rising from the facilities Thursday night.

Image: Internet Grab