Altogether 10 people got killed and another 10 were injured in a gas burning accident Wednesday in a local coalmine in central China's Henan Province, said local sources.

The gas burning occurred around 9 a.m. Wednesday at Qiaoyan Coal Mine of Chengguan Township, Yiyang County, when 24 miners were toiling underground. Nine miners were killed on the spot and another miner who escaped the scene of the accident eventually succumbed to injuries in a local hospital, according to Zhang Huimin, deputy head of Yiyang County Government who is in charge of safety affairs.

An earlier report said the tragedy only claimed seven miners' lives and injured eight others at the coal mine.

The local official said only six people, including two emergency workers, escaped unhurt. All those killed were local farmers who worked as temporary miners at the coalmine. And the injured are still undergoing medical treatment in four local hospitals.

Local authorities said that the mine, a privately owned entity,was operating against the county's temporary ban on coal production. Chui Genzhu, the legal representative of the coalmine, has gone into hiding after the accident. And the cause of the accident is under further investigation.

Source: Xinhua