A blast near a kindergarten in Jiangsu province has caused seven deaths and more than 65 injuries as of 7:45 pm Thursday.

The blast happened at around 4:50 pm at the gate of a kindergarten in the province's Fengxian county.

The publicity office of Xuzhou city, which administers the county, posted a statement on its official micro blog saying two died at the scene of the blast and five died after being sent to hospital.

The blast, which occurred when children were leaving school, also injured 66, including nine who were critically injured, according to the statement.

The cause of the blast is still unknown, and information on the identities of the injured and deceased are also uncertain.