The cause for the explosion, which occurred at the mine in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, is yet to be known and investigations are underway to find out the cause of explosion.
As reported by the state-run Xinhua news agency, the bodies of the workers have been recovered by the rescuers.
China is said to be the world’s largest consumer of coal, which has been used to meet two-thirds of its energy needs in 2013.
On 27 November, at least 11 workers were killed in a coal mine explosion in south-western Guizhou Province.
Hundreds of mine workers reportedly die in China every year.
The country is planning to close more than 2,000 small-scale coal mines by 2015, in order to improve safety conditions by abolishing old operations.
According to Greenpeace energy analysts in China, the country produces and consumes an amount of coal equal to that produced by the rest of the world combined.
The level of coal burned in China during the first three quarters of this year increased by around 2%, compared with the same period of 2013.
