Blast kills dozens in rebel-held village in Myanmar

An explosion has killed at least 55 people and wounded dozens more in a village in a region of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, under insurgent control.

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

Rescue teams were searching for and extracting people trapped beneath rubble, the source added.

The Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), which controls the area and which has been engaged in bitter fighting with Myanmar's military junta, said explosives used in mining and quarrying had exploded.

Residents described scenes of 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.

"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."