Three students were burned after explosives detonated in an abandoned fireworks plant in Yilong county, Sichuan province, on Thursday afternoon.

According to Western China Metropolis Daily, four students around 10 years old were playing in the plant in Xingfu village when one threw a lit firecracker into the warehouse, setting off explosives that had expired.

Deng Jianming, deputy Party chief of Banqiao township, which has the village under its administration, told the newspaper that the plant stopped operation in 2012.

The explosion caused the warehouse, which covered nearly 100 sq m, to collapse, Deng said.