Five people were trapped underground as a gas outburst jolted a coal mine in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality Saturday.

The accident occurred at about 10:00 AM Saturday when seven miners were working underground in Daxing Colliery in Fengjie County, according to sources with the county's government.

Two managed to escape after the gas outburst, and the fate of the other five, including the owner of the mine and his son, remains unknown.

The owner has illegally resumed the operation of the mine, which had been closed by the local government, for several days.

Rescue operation is underway.

Death toll of Shanxi colliery flooding rises to 28

All the 28 miners trapped in the coal mine flooding accident that occurred on March 18 in Linxian County, north China's Shanxi Province, were confirmed dead Saturday.

The last body of the miners was carried out of the mine at 8:30 AM Saturday, and rescuers planned to announce the end of rescue work Sunday.

Some rescuers were still pumping water out of the mine to determine whether the mine could restart production.

The accident took place at 3:30 p.m. on March 18 at the Fanjiashan Coal Mine in the county, when 58 miners were working underground. Only 30 managed to escape.

The families of the dead will get 200,000 yuan (US$25,000) in compensation, a local government official said. 

(Xinhua News Agency April 2, 2006)