At least 22 workers were killed and 37 injured in Liaoning province yesterday in China's latest coal mine accident, according to Xinhua.
Four more miners were missing after an early morning explosion at the Wulong Coal Mine in Fuxin .
Wang Daguang, the mine's party secretary, said the explosion happened about 1km underground and hinted that the chance of finding more survivors was slim, Xinhua reported.
Staff at the Wulong Coal Mine and the Fuxin Coal Mine Safety Bureau would only say yesterday that all their senior managers were at the scene.
Xinhua said senior leaders from the Liaoning and Fuxin governments were directing the rescue operation and an investigation was under way.
Wulong Coal Mine had been in operation since 1957 and produced 2 million tonnes of coal a year, according to Xinhua.
In February last year, 214 workers were killed in an explosion at the Sunjiawan Coal Mine, also owned by the Fuxin Mining Group.