Chinese fireworks blast kills 36

Beijing has just lifted a 12-year ban on fireworks

The number of people killed in an explosion at a fireworks warehouse in central China has risen to 36, Chinese media said.

Many of the victims were praying at a nearby Buddhist temple. Up to 48 others were injured - some of them critically.

The accident happened in Anyang, Henan province, on Sunday - the first day of the Chinese New Year celebrations.

Several hundred people die each year in Chinese firework factories, many in unregulated and substandard premises.

Many fireworks incidents were reported across China over the weekend.

In the capital, Beijing, 112 people were treated in hospitals - including 17 with serious eye injuries.

In the south-western city of Chongqing, nearly 200 fires were caused by fireworks on Sunday - New Year's Eve, Xinhua state news agency reported.

Fireworks were banned in 200 cities across China in 1994, but the ban was lifted last year for more than 100 of them, and in many other cities this year.

Fireworks are traditionally believed to ward off evil spirits trying to enter the new year.