Forty-one miners have been confirmed dead and another 5 were still trapped underground after Wednesday's gas explosion in a coal mine in the southwestern province of Sichuan, rescuers said on Friday.

Rescuers carry a rescued miner to an ambulance at the Xiaojiawan Coal Mine in Panzhihua city, Sichuan province, in the early hours of Thursday morning, after an explosion hit the mine on Wednesday evening. [Photo/Xinhua]

A total of 120 miners were working underground at the Xiaojiawan Coal Mine in Panzhihua city when the blast occurred at around 6 p.m., sources with the rescue headquarters and the city government said.

A work team led by Yang Dongliang, director of the State Administration of Work Safety, reached the coal mine at 7 am to oversee the rescue work.

The rescue headquarters has asked the local government to comfort family members of the miners, and the compensation process has started.

The Xiaojiawan Coal Mine, owned by Zhengjin Industry and Trade, is an integrated coal mine with an annual output of 90,000 metric tons. It started its trial run in March 2011, and gained a safety license in December, according to the State Administration of Work Safety.

The Sichuan government will examine potential safety hazards in all the mines within the province. Projects or companies with serious safety hazards will be halted and reorganized immediately, local authorities said.

According to data released by the administration, 41 accidents triggered by gas have happened in China's coal mines until July this year, causing 149 deaths. Compared with the same period last year, 36 fewer accidents happened and 142 fewer miners were killed.

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