YUANPING, Shanxi, April 10 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in an explosion in Yuanping, a city in north China's Shanxi Province, on Monday morning has risen to 27 as of 11 p.m. while some others were still missing, local sources said.

    The explosion took place at about 2:25 a.m. in a garage of the staff hospital of Xuangang Coal and Electricity Company in Yuanping.

    Most of the victims were hospital staff and their family members, said Li Jianzhang, an official with the Xuangang company.

    Li said his company had no idea how many people were still missing.

    The explosion completely destroyed a two-storey residential building and several small houses nearby. Buildings within one kilometer from the garage were damaged to certain extent and a five-storey medical staff building was damaged seriously nearby.

    The death toll might rise as rescue operation is going on, rescuers said. The rescue operation is expected to complete by mid Tuesday.

    The rescuers and medical teams arrived at the spot shortly after the explosion. Yang Anhe, director of the provincial public security bureau, and Shanxi Vice Governor Jin Shanzhong also rushed to the site to coordinate rescue efforts.

    Investigation into the cause of the explosion is under way. Enditem