The Ministry of Public Security has ordered tougher controls against illegal fireworks production, trade and transport after a fireworks-loaded truck exploded on a central China expressway on Friday morning.

Safety control measures regarding fireworks as well as the ongoing Spring Festival travel rush should be fully carried out to ensure people have a happy holiday season, according to an emergency meeting called by the ministry.

Meng Jianzhu, state councilor and also the country's top security official, and Guo Shengkun, public security minister, called for investigations to determine the exact cause of the accident.

The ministry has dispatched a team, headed by Huang Ming, vice minister of public security, to the site of the accident in Mianchi County, Sanmenxia City of Henan Province. He will direct the rescue work and lead an investigation.

An expressway viaduct collapsed in Mianchi after a truck carrying fireworks exploded at about 9 a.m., causing at least 25 vehicles to fall from the viaduct, according to local sources.

So far, nine people have been confirmed dead.

The expressway links Lianyungang City in east China's Jiangsu Province and Horgos, a border port in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the country's far west.