Eight miners were confirmed dead in a colliery blast early Friday in Jixi of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, six days after a similar tragedy killed 26 in the same city.

An explosion was reported in the pit of the Chengjin Colliery in Hengshan district of Jixi at 2:00 AM, the local safety watchdog said.

Rescuers have recovered all the dead miners by midday, according to the provincial coal mine safety inspection administration.

The mine is privately owned and holds a production permit and a safety license. The cause of the accident is being investigated.

The death toll climbed to 26 on Friday following last Saturday's gas blast in the Yuanhua Colliery in Jixi. Rescuers wrapped up the recovery operations on Friday morning saying they had brought all the dead to the surface.

(Xinhua News Agency December 1, 2006)