Nine workers were killed and 11 others injured after a tunnel collapsed on Thursday afternoon in a coal mine in China's central Henan Province.

The incident happened at 4:00 p.m. when a 80-meter section of a tunnel suddenly collapsed in the Qianqiu Coal Mine, which belongs to Yima Coal Industry (Group) Co. Ltd. in Yima City, said a spokesman of the group on Friday.

The injured were hospitalized. An investigation into the cause of the incident has begun.

The coal mine was established in 1956 and reported an output of 2.27 million tons last year.

(Xinhua News Agency June 6, 2008)