A mine where 17 people were killed by a fire in northeast China's Liaoning Province early on Wednesday was operating illegally, the provincial safety watchdog said on Thursday afternoon.

The Jin'an Coal Mine, a private operation at Dongliao County of Liaoyuan City, with an annual production capacity of 60,000 ton, had no licence for coal production, the Liaoning Provincial Safety Supervision Administration Bureau said via a tele-conference.

The mine, which also had inadequate safety conditions and poor management, continued to operate after the Dongliao County safety authority ordered it to cease production on Feb. 28.

The Liaoyuan Municipal Safety Supervision and Administration Bureau and the provincial coal mine safety bureau, respectively, also issued notices ordering it to stop production on Tuesday.

The people responsible for the fire have been arrested, according to the conference. The detailed cause of the accident was still under investigation.

Thirteen miners survived the blaze that broke out at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

Altogether, 30 miners were working in a the tunnel about 85 meters underground. Rescuers had recovered all the bodies of the victims by 1:50 p.m..

Experts from the provincial work safety supervision administration confirmed the fire was caused by the spontaneous combustion of coal. Part of the tunnel later collapsed which cut off the escape route for the trapped miners.

(Xinhua News Agency, March 7, 2008)