Nine people have been confirmed dead in a coal mine blast in Lianyuan county in Hunan Province, according to the latest information released by the local rescue operation headquarters.
Of the 29 miners working when the blast occurred, 16 of them were able to come to safety on their own, while four of them were rescued.
Earlier, the State Administration of Work Safety had said eight people were killed in the explosion.
The tunnel, which was rocked by the explosion at around 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday, is said to be about 70 floors deep and required at least 100 rescue workers, according to the rescue officials present on the site of the explosion.
