Huge blast kills dozens in rebel-held village in Myanmar

A devastating explosion has killed at least 55 people and wounded dozens more in a village in a region of Myanmar under insurgent control, the BBC has been told.

A source familiar with the situation on the ground in Kaung Tat, a village in Namkham Township in Shan State, near the Chinese border, said 25 women and 30 men had died. Other reports gave slightly different figures.

A huge cloud of smoke could be seen billowing over the village shortly after the blast occurred on Sunday.

The Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), which controls the area and has been fighting the military junta, said explosives used in mining and quarrying had gone off.

The "accidental explosion" occurred around 12:00 local time (05:30 GMT) on Sunday, according to a TNLA statement quoted by news agency AFP.

"Because of this explosion, many local villagers lost their lives and suffered injuries and damage to their homes," the group said, without providing details.

Footage from the scene shows a vast crater of earth and rubble surrounded by shattered buildings, with smoke still drifting from charred debris and twisted trees.

Residents described devastation and confusion following the explosion.

One wrote on social media that many people had initially believed the blast was caused by an air strike.

Children were among the dead and hundreds of homes had been damaged, affecting almost an entire neighborhood, according to the post.

"By sheer luck, my phone saved my life," the resident wrote.

"I was sitting in my bedroom eating noodles and looking at my phone. If I had been eating in the kitchen, I probably would not be alive today."

The resident, who said she had suffered a minor leg injury and her own home had been destroyed, described scenes of panic and grief in the aftermath of the blast.

"People were crying, calling out for their parents," she wrote. "It felt as if the world had come to an end."

She questioned why a facility containing explosives had been allowed to operate close to residential areas, saying families of those killed would not be satisfied unless the authorities provided a full explanation.

The TNLA is one of the most powerful ethnic armed groups opposed to the junta in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

Many of the country's rebel groups rely on mining precious minerals to fund their campaigns, with lax safety measures making mine collapses and other accidents common, according to AFP.