At least 13 miners were killed while nine others injured in a coal mine gas blast in Ningwu County in north China's Shanxi Province, local officials said here on Saturday.
The explosion occurred at Niuxinhui coal mine in the county on Friday when 30 miners were working underground, head of the county's work safety administration said.
The accident killed 11 people on the spot, while two of the wounded died later en route to a local hospital, Xinhua news agency reported.
The injured were admitted to the hospital.
The coal mine is a licensed one, which is undertaking an expansion project approved by the provincial coal industry authorities.
Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the mishap.
China, which has the world's deadliest coal mines, reported over 4,800 deaths in 2006.