A coal mine blast in north China's Shanxi Province on Saturday has left at least 19 miners dead and 39 others trapped.

At press time 18 bodies had been found by rescuers at Linjiazhuang Coal Mine in Lingshi County, while rescuers continued their race against time to save the trapped miners.

Another man, who was dispatched by the mine owner right after the accident to "look into" what happened, was also confirmed dead.

Li Yizhong, director of the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS), and Zhao Tiechui, director of the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety, arrived on the scene to manage rescue and relief work.

Jin Shanzhong, vice-governor of Shanxi responsible for work safety affairs, told the 70-member rescue team to "spare no efforts" to save the trapped miners.

Sixty-four miners were working 100 metres below the surface when the explosion occurred at 4:30 PM on Saturday. It is not known what caused the explosion.

According to SAWS website, six miners escaped after the blast and one was rescued.

Conditions for the remaining 39 miners underground are unknown, said an employee surnamed Wang working at rescue headquarters.

It is a licensed mine owned and operated by Duanchun town in the county. However, the office director of the county's work safety bureau said the licence was suspended at the end of last year while it worked on expansion of production capacity.

In another development, 18 people were stranded by a coal mine flood in Ziyun County in Guizhou Province. At press time no more information was available on the accident.

(China Daily July 17, 2006)