A coal mine gas blast has killed three miners and injured seven others in east China's Jiangxi Province, sources with the local government said Tuesday.

The blast occurred around 12:10 a.m. Monday in the Yinying Coal Mine in Puqian Township of Hengfeng County, in northeastern Jiangxi, when ten miners were 285 meters underground carrying out repair work.

The rescuers found the bodies of two miners after the blast and sent the eight injured to hospital. One severely injured died after treatment in hospital, while the others are still being treated.

The coal mine, which was put into operation in 1996 with a designed production capacity of 100,000 tons, is run by the township government.

Local officials are investigating the cause of the accident.

(Xinhua News Agency October 23, 2007)