A mysterious blast in a residential area of a northern Chinese city killed nine people, and police suspect a resident was illegally storing coal-mining explosives in his home, state media said Friday.

The explosion Thursday destroyed 26 homes in Fenyang, a city in Shanxi province, the Beijing Morning Post reported.

The blast occurred at the home of a coal mine

owner, and police say he may have been storing mining explosives illegally, the newspaper said.

It killed nine people and injured 25 others, the official Xinhua News Agency said in a separate report.

It wasn't clear if the mine owner was among the blast victims.

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