BEIJING — Seven people were killed and 13 injured when a truck carryingmore than 5 tons of explosives blew up in northern China, the localgovernment reported Thursday.

The blast struck just before midnight on Tuesday outside an explosiveswarehouse, according to a statement from the Zhen’an county government inShaanxi province posted on its official website.

The warehouse operator works in using explosives for mining andconstruction purposes. The government statement said the cause of theexplosion remains under investigation.

The official Xinhua News Agency said victims included truck drivers,warehouse staff and security guards.

China has made major strides in industrial safety in recent years, althoughlarge-scale accidents still occur.

Some are linked to corruption and lax enforcement, such as a 2015 blast ata chemical warehouse in the port city of Tianjin that killed 173 people andwas found to have flouted multiple safety regulations.