Three people have been confirmed dead and eight others injured after a factory blast occurred in Northeast China's Jilin province Sunday evening, local authorities said early Monday morning.

The blast occurred at 11:55 pm at a petroleum refinery in the city of Songyuan, triggering a fire, according to the city government.

Firefighters have evacuated nearly 3,000 local residents as of 6 am Monday and the fire has been brought under control.

The cause of the blast is under investigation, local authorities said.