Death toll from E China factory blast rises to 68

A press conference on a factory blast is held in Kunshan City, east China's Jiangsu province, Aug. 2, 2014. A powerful factory blast has killed 68 people and injured 187 others in Kunshan City on Saturday morning. The injured have been treated in hospitals in Kunshan and the nearby cities of Suzhou, Wuxi and Shanghai. (Xinhua/Shen Peng)

A total of 68 people died and 187 others were injured after a powerful blast ripped through a factory in east China's Jiangsu Province, officials said at a press release.

There were 264 people at the site when the explosion hit the wheel hub polishing workshop owned by the Taiwanese-invested Kunshan Zhongrong Metal in the city of Kunshan at 7:37 a.m..

Among the dead, 44 were immediately killed, while 24 died after medical treatment failed. And 137 of the injured have been transferred to hospitals in nearby cities of Suzhou, Wuxi, Nantong and Shanghai.