More than 70 rescuers are trying to reach the trapped miners in Yuzhou
An explosion at a coal mine in central China has killed 20 miners and trapped another 17 underground, officials say.
Rescue efforts are underway at the pit in Yuzhou, Henan province, which state media said had been hit by a "sudden coal and gas outburst".
The 17 miners have been located, but rescuers first must clear tons of coal dust in the mine shaft to reach them.
China's mining industry is the most dangerous in the world - more than 2,600 were killed in accidents in 2009.
Gas hazard The blast happened early on Saturday at the Yuzhou pit, which is owned by Pingyu Coal & Electric Co Ltd, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
The national work safety agency said the explosion occurred as miners were drilling a hole to release pressure from a gas build-up as part of efforts to decrease the risk of blasts.
The agency said that 239 miners had managed to reach the surface but that 20 had been found dead and 17 were trapped.
It was not immediately clear if the missing miners were alive and how deep underground they were.
The explosion unleashed more than 2,500 tons of coal dust, Chinese mine engineer Du Bo told Xinhua.
More than 70 rescuers are now also battling dangerous levels of gas and the risk of falling rocks as they work to free the trapped miners, local media reports say.
Safety ignored China is heavily reliant on its mining industry, with coal supplying some 70% of its energy needs. Many of those employed in mines are migrant workers with limited training.
The Chinese government has been attempting to improve conditions in coal mines The central government has made improving conditions in the country's 25,000 coal mines a priority, and the number of deaths has fallen from nearly 7,000 in 2002 to 2,631 last year.
In April, 115 miners were rescued alive from a flooded mine in Shanxi province after spending more than a week underground.
The National Energy Administration (NEA) closed 1,539 small and dangerous coal mines this year as part of restructuring efforts, said Xinhua.
But safety rules have often been ignored in favour of profit, as the economy has boomed.
Earlier this month, new regulations came into force requiring the managers of coal mines to accompany their miners, as an incentive to improving the conditions underground.
Any mine boss who refused to go into the pit would be given a harsh fine.
The latest accident comes after the successful rescue of 33 miners in Chile, after they were trapped for 69 days by a rockfall.
Many in China have said the country should learn from the incident and improve the training given to miners.
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