Beijing: Twenty-one miners were killed and 16 others are trapped underground on Saturday in a coal mine blast in China, Xinhua reported.
The blast occurred around 6am in Yuzhou city in central Henan province. Twenty bodies were retrieved by 1 pm.
A spokesman for the rescue headquarters said 239 of 276 miners escaped when the blast took place.
The trapped miners were located but the coal dust from a shaft needs to be cleared before the rescue can start.
He added that a high density of gas underground is hindering the rescue.
The mine is owned by Pingyu Coal & Electric Co. Ltd.
Twenty-three miners were killed in a similar blast in the mine on August 1, 2008.