A blast, believed to be caused by spontaneous combustion of explosives stored in a house, killed three people and left 10 wounded early Tuesday morning in central China's Henan Province.

The explosives, kept by Mao Zhenpeng in his house in Xiaxi Village, Xiadian Township, Ruzhou City, were intended for mining aluminum ore, according to the city government.

The explosion, which occurred at around 6:40 a.m. Tuesday, also damaged some neighboring houses.

Two people, including Mao's wife, were killed at the scene and another one died on the way to the hospital.

Police are hunting for Mao. It is not known whether he was at home when the accident happened.