Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing Thursday offered his sympathy to the victims of a factory explosion in Zambia which killed 37 people.

When meeting with Zambia's Minister of Finance and National Planning Peter Ugandu Magande and other Zambian officials in Jakarta, Li conveyed the message of sympathy from Chinese President Hu Jintao for the victims of the explosion.

Li said the Chinese government will cooperate with Zambia to find out the cause of the accident and help treat the injured.

Reports from Zambia say a mining explosives factory blew up Wednesday in Kitwe, a mining city in Zambia's Copperbelt province that lies about 400 km north of the Zambian capital Lusaka. Nine people are still missing.

The explosion destroyed the building of BGRIMM Explosives (Zambia) Ltd., a 7.6 million US dollar joint venture between China' s Beijing General Research Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and the NFC Africa Mining Company.

NFC Africa is the owner of the Chambezi copper mine where the explosives factory is located. The operation of the mine was not affected by the accident.

Magande, for his part, thanked President Hu and the Chinese government, saying Zambia will cooperate with Chinese side to handle the accident and settle related problems.

Source: Xinhua