HEFEI, CHINA (XINHUA) - An explosion at a chemical factory in Bengbu, in east China's Anhui Province, during the rescue of a worker trapped in a storage tank, has killed two people and injured nine others, the local emergency response authority said on Sunday (June 30).

The accident occurred at around 6pm on Friday at Anhui Maiqi Chemical Co Ltd, officials said.

A worker of the company was trapped while cleaning a storage tank that was under construction. In the process of the rescue operation, the storage tank exploded, killing the worker and one firefighter on the spot and injuring nine other first responders.

All the injured have been hospitalised.

An investigation is ongoing.