Eight miners were confirmed dead due to a lack of oxygen in a local lead and zinc mine at Laiyuan, a county in Baoding City, north China's Hebei Province.

Rescuers on Tuesday morning found the remains of six miners who were trapped following a blast at the Jiyu Lead and Zinc Ore Mine in Laiyuan County, a source from the Hebei Provincial Bureau of Work Safety said.

The Laiyuan County Government office on Monday received a tip-off at noon that there was a blast inside the mine's shaft. Two miners had suffocated to death and six others were trapped.

It was later reported to Hebei Provincial Bureau of Work Safety which immediately sent a team down to the mine to help in the rescue work.

No other details of the accident were available.

(Xinhua News Agency December 25, 2007)