The State Administration of Work Safety said the pre-dawn blast hit a mine in Pingdingshan city in the province.
It said the mine´s capacity had been recently increased, and that two rescue teams were working in the shaft where the explosion happened. It did not give any other details and phone calls to city offices were not immediately answered Monday.
Although safety conditions have improved sharply in recent years, China´s mining industry is by far the world´s deadliest, with accidents and blasts killing more than 2,600 coal miners last year.
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