Two rescue operations in Chinese collieries to save a total of 10 miners trapped underground after separate accidents left a total of 10 dead.

Zhangjiazhou mine in Chenzhou City, Hunan Province was cordoned off following a gas outburst that killed nine people on Wednesday, March 26, 2008.

Nine died in the first accident in a gas outburst in central China's Hunan Province at about 6:30 PM Wednesday.

The accident occurred at the Zhangjiazhou mine, in Chenzhou City, when 17 miners were working underground, investigators said.

Three workers managed to escape from the blast, which brought about 100 tons of coal down from the coal bed.

Four teams of rescuers were on rotation in the rescue operation, but tunnels were blocked by rubble that hindered the search.

The mine's operating permit and production license expired early last year, and it was not approved for operation, either, said Peng Youming, vice director of Chenzhou City Coal Mine Safety Bureau.

The gas monitoring system had not been in use due to a breakdown before the accident, Peng said.

The colliery was privately owned and being merged with other mines under the local government's plan to reform the mining industry.

Another miner is dead and five are trapped below ground after a coal pit collapsed on Wednesday in central China's Henan Province.

The accident occurred around 11:00 PM at Yongchang coal mine in Banpo town, Yichuan County, said Qin Qifeng, an official of the township government.

Rescuers found two injured people, one of whom died later in hospital.

Police are seeking the owner of the privately owned coal mine, Qin said.

The search would continue for those trapped, but it would take some time to clear the narrow tunnels.

A miner waits at the entrance of Zhangjiazhou mine where nine died in a gas outburst on Wednesday, March 26, 2008.

(Xinhua News Agency March 28, 2008)