XI'AN - Six people have been killed and another injured after a boiler blast on Wednesday in Northwest China's Shaanxi province, authorities said.

The gas boiler exploded at 9:40 am in a three-storey building at a residential community of Mengshan road in the city of Xingping, a city government spokesman said.

The building collapsed following the blast.

The casualties were property management workers and residents, the spokesman added.

The injured person was rushed to hospital but it was unknown if the injury was life threatening or not.

The cause of the accident is being investigated.