(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-09-17 17:21

More than 70 students were still in hospital on Monday after a bunch of hydrogen-filled balloons burst into flames at a secondary school in Northwest China over the weekend.

About 1,500 small balloons to be used for the opening ceremony of a sports meet unexpectedly exploded and caught fire at around 9:00 am on Sunday, injuring students at the Lanzhou Electric Power School in the Anning District of Lanzhou, capital of Gansu Province.

More than 70 students were injured and rushed to two hospitals in Lanzhou, most suffering burns in the face, hands, ears and back, doctors said.

"The students are stable and are receiving further treatment," said a doctor, who declined to be named, from the hospital affiliated to the Lanzhou Military Area Command of the Chinese PLA Air Force.

An official with the Lanzhou Electric Power School said the school had set up an emergency team to deal with the aftermath of accident and some teachers had been assigned to the hospitals to take care of the injured students.

The Gansu Electric Power Company, which supervises the secondary school, had planned to hold the sports meet in the school's playground.

An investigation into the cause of the accident has been under way.