Five die, 17 missing in mine blast

At least five miners have been killed and another 17 are missing following a gas explosion at a coal mine in Northeast China's Liaoning province on Thursday.

The blast occurred at around 11:40 am in a shaft at the Dahuang No 2 coal mine, at Dengta, where 23 miners were working.

As of Thursday night, five bodies had been found. One miner who had managed to escape was undergoing treatment, according to a statement by the government of Dengta, a county-level city under the administration of Liaoyang city.

The cause of the explosion was still unclear on Thursday night and local authorities had blocked the road leading to the mine.

About three hours after the accident, rescuers and ambulances began to arrive at the mine to carry out rescue work, according to local residents.

The 17 miners are believed to be trapped about 169 meters underground, but rescue teams had not made contact with them, Liaoshen Evening News reported on Thursday night, citing Jiang Zhenbo, a work safety official in Dengta.

The Dahuang mine is a privately run enterprise with all the required legal licenses for coal mining. But the mine resumed operation after a holiday break without getting permission from Liaoyang coal mine safety authorities, a spokesman for the State Administration of Work Safety told China Daily.

The administration is demanding a thorough investigation into the accident and warns that anyone found responsible will face harsh punishment.

Fu Jianhua, director of the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety, has led a team to the mine to supervise the rescue work.

Dengta is a city with rich coal resources, reputedly as much as 380 million tons, attracting many mining enterprises.

According to information online, the Dahuang mine was established in 2000, employing no more than 100 miners. In 2009, the total assets of the mine reached 9.9 million yuan ($1.6 million), and it was a big contributor to the local government's tax revenue.

No one from the mine company was available for comment on Thursday evening.

In 2011, there were 1,973 miners reported killed in 1,201 coal mine accidents in China, of which 1,391 were killed in small mines.