NEW DELHI, November 16 (RIA Novosti) - At least 15 people were killed and some 20 injured in a large explosion at a house in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, the Press Trust of India said on Monday.

According to preliminary reports, a cooking gas cylinder exploded at the home of a local entrepreneur, causing a fire that triggered the blast of an illegal store of explosives.

The man was using his house, which was destroyed in the blast, to keep nitroglycerin sticks that he hoped to resell to local mining companies. Some 15 neighboring houses were also razed to the ground in the blast.

Officials said the death toll might rise as more bodies could be found under the rubble.

Poor adherence to safety regulations is often to blame for such incidents in India. In mid-October, 32 people were killed in an explosion at a fireworks shop in Tamil Nadu. In July, an explosion at a fireworks workshop killed 16 people in the same state.