The accident, which the local government said was caused by improper use of explosives, was reported at around 4:00 a.m. at the Nanshan Colliery in Wangyu Village of Lingshi County.

No detail is available right now, but a spokesman of the county government said the accident was "fatal".

Rescue work is underway.

Also on Monday, the death toll in another deadly accident in the coal-rich Shanxi Province climbed to 35, with 12 more missing in the pit of the Jiaojiazhai Colliery in Xinzhou, where a gas blast trapped 47 on November 5.