Six suspects have been arrested for the fireworks blast in east China's Anhui Province that killed nine people and injured ten.

Ma Dianming, head of the Mazhuang Village Committee in Taihe County and younger brother of the illegal factory owner who was killed in the explosion, is accused of covering up and financing illegal fireworks production and helping store up explosives during police interrogations.

The other five suspects, all relatives of Ma, are accused of storing, selling and transporting the fireworks.

Another 16 in connection with the blast have been detained, warned or fined by police as punishment.

A preliminary investigation has showed Ma Xiuying, a 53-year-old woman, was responsible for the blast. She rented a villager's private house in which to produce fireworks without having obtained a license in advance.

The Anhui Provincial Bureau of Work Safety has put a strict ban on illegal production and demanded a thorough safety checkup of the province's 330 registered fireworks factories.