Two children were killed and four were injured when the abandoned culvert they were playing in collapsed during a blasting operation at a nearby airport in Chongqing.

Eight students from Qixing primary school were playing in the culvert near Qixing village, Chongqing, when it collapsed at around 1:20 pm yesterday, Wang Xinkai, director of the Chongqing municipal committee said.

Firefighters retrieved the 13-year-old body of Yin Qitian, a sixth grader. Another child, who has not been identified, died in hospital.