Eleven miners were killed in gas blast that occurred in a coal mine in northeast China's Jilin Province early Thursday morning, rescuers confirmed.

The blast occurred at 2:16 AM in Xinyu Coal Mine in Baishan City's Jiangyuan District, trapping 11 miners who were working underground.

Rescue efforts were kicked off immediately after the mishap and all the 11 trapped miners were found dead five hours later.

Cause of the blast is being investigated.

(Xinhua News Agency October 26, 2006)