#Bangkok

More than a dozen rescue and charity groups used excavation machinery on Monday to recover bodies following a massive blast from stored mining explosives in northeastern Myanmar.

The explosion occurred Sunday at noon in Kaungtup village, Namhkam township in Shan State near the Chinese border. Initial reports had suggested there were at least 45 deaths, but local rescue volunteers now put the number of dead at 38-40. Determining the exact death toll has been complicated because several bodies were blown apart by the force of the explosion.

Many of Myanmar's resource-rich areas, where most mining operations have been largely unregulated, are controlled by different armed militias engaged in sporadic fighting against the central government to seek greater autonomy.