A coal mine gas blast in southwest China's Guizhou Province on Sunday resulted in the deaths of 11 miners and five remain missing, local authorities said.

The accident occurred at about 0:20AM in the Yile Coal Mine located at the Shuitang Town of Panxian County, said a spokesman with the Guizhou Provincial Administration of Coal Mine Safety.

Twenty-five miners were working underground when the blast occurred with only nine escaping, said the spokesman. Parts of the underground tunnel collapsed in the blast and rescuers continue to search for the missing miners, he said.

The owner of the coal mine, with an annual output of 60,000 tons, has been taken into custody, he added.

(Xinhua News Agency January 29, 2007)