BEIJING, May 22 (AP/UNB) - Authorities say a tunnel blast has killed 19 workers at a central Chinese highway construction site.

Two officials from Hunan province's work safety bureau said Saturday's explosion killed 19 and injured one person. The officials only gave their surnames as Li and Yang, a practice that is common among Chinese government employees.

The official Xinhua news agency says the blast occurred when a vehicle was unloading explosives in the tunnel of the highway that is being built between Yanling and Rucheng in Hunan province.