BEIJING (AFP) - Chinese police have detained two people after 11 died and 17 were injured by an explosion at a fireworks factory, state media reported on Saturday.

The factory in southern China's Guangxi province exploded on Friday afternoon, the official Xinhua news agency said, without citing a cause. Local police detained the manager and the legal representative of the factory, the report said.

China has seen several firework-related disasters in recent years. Eleven people died in February after a lorry carrying fireworks exploded and caused a highway bridge to collapse, local officials said. Explosions at two different fireworks factories in China last year left a total of 14 people dead and 13 injured, Xinhua reported.

China's vast fireworks industry is notorious for lax safety standards. Exported Chinese fireworks often do not meet safety standards at their destination countries.