Thirteen people were killed and 17 others injured in an explosion at a steel plant in China's northeast Liaoning Province, according to DNA.

The explosion stated to be an accident rocked the steel-casting workshop owned by Angang Heavy Machinery Co in Anshan city.

Ten people were found dead while rescuers retrieved the bodies of three workers who had previously been reported missing, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted local officials as saying.

Seventeen others who were injured in the blast were getting treated in the local hospital.

The accident took place when the mold, which was about 10 meters in diameter, exploded with a pile of sand and concrete inside.

The blast took place when workers were about to finish the casting of a ring-shaped piece of steel, a worker who survived the blast told Xinhua.

The machinery company is one of China's largest machine manufacturers in the metallurgy industry.