BEIJING -- Authorities in central China say the death toll in a gas plant explosion has risen to 15 with another 15 seriously injured.

China's Ministry of Emergency Management says about 270 firefighters and rescue workers have completed three rounds of search and rescue since the Friday evening explosion in Yima city in Henan province.

The official Xinhua news agency says the explosion occurred in the air separation unit of the Yima gas factory of the Henan Coal Gas (Group) Co., Ltd. It says all production has been stopped.

China experiences frequent industrial accidents despite orders from the central government to improve safety at factories, power plants and mines.

More than 60 people died in March in a chemical plant explosion in eastern Jiangsu province.