At least 10 coal miners were trapped underground early Saturday by an explosion in Jixi City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, three miners who escaped said on Sunday.

The number of trapped miners is twice the figure provided by the Heilongjiang provincial coal mine safety supervision authorities on Saturday.

Liu Shanfu, 36, recalled that he and two other miners left the shaft after work at around 5:00 am Saturday. They were 50 meters from the mouth of the shaft when they heard the explosion underground and saw black smoke rising from the opening.

The three rushed back but found the entrance to the shaft had collapsed in the blast.

Liu said at least 10 miners were working underground when the incident occurred. A Xinhua reporter has seen relatives of the 10 trapped miners and learned their names.

Previously, a source with the headquarters for rescue and investigation into the accident said that they could not provide the exact number of trapped miners the investigation was ongoing.

The owner of the mine fled after the accident. The mine has no state license to operate, according to the Heilongjiang provincial coal mine safety supervision authorities.

Rescue work continued at press time and investigation into the cause of the accident is under way.

(Xinhua News Agency April 12, 2004)