Six people were confirmed dead and two injured in a carbon monoxide spill at a coal mine in northeast China's Liaoning Province on Thursday, the local safety supervision bureau said Friday.

The accident occurred late Thursday afternoon at Changsheng Coal Mine in Huazi town of Dengta City. Two repair workers were reported missing at 6:00 PM and six rescuers went down the pit to search for them, but no one showed up again after a long while.

Rescuers sent by the local government lifted all the eight people to the ground overnight but three of them were confirmed dead. Three others died later during emergency treatment and the remaining two are hospitalized.

The tragedy came at the heels of a gas blast at Beicao Mine in the same town that left four missing and another one injured on Oct. 30. Rescuers have since been searching for the missing miners but their whereabouts remain unknown.

(Xinhua News Agency November 4, 2005)