Sixty-five people were killed and over 100 injured in an explosion that rocked an automotive parts factory in eastern China early Saturday morning, Chinese state media reported.

In a brief report, state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) said the blast happened in Kunshan city, located in the Jiangshu province. The news network said the explosion left some 65 people dead.

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The official Xinhua News Agency, however, placed the death toll at more than 40, with over 120 people left injured.

Xinhua said the explosion occurred at a car polishing workshop at 7:37 a.m.

The workshop was operated by Zhongrong Metal Products Company, according to CCTV. The factory's clients reportedly include U.S. automaker General Motors and other American companies.

Zhongrong is a Taiwanese-based enterprise that primarily manufactures electroplated aluminum alloy wheel hubs.

The factory employs a total of 450 workers, more than 200 of whom were at the site at the time of the explosion, according to local government officials.

Authorities are still on the scene for the ongoing rescue efforts and medical treatment.

The cause of the explosion remains under investigation, officials said.

Kunshan is located about 600 miles southeast of Beijing, which is the capital of the People's Republic of China. Jiangshu province is home to many facilities, which are owned by both local and foreign companies that manufacture goods for export.

It's not the first time an industrial accident, such as a factory explosion, has happened in China, where safety measures are often not up to standards.

In July 2013, work safety authorities in the country revealed that more than 27,700 people have either been killed or gone missing due to workplace accidents.

Wang Dexue, deputy head of the State Administration of Work Safety, told Xinhua that work safety is a major problem in the country. Wang said negligence among work safety supervisors, especially in the coal mining industry, has led to the rising number of workplace accidents in China.

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