Two miners have been killed with seven others missing during a gas outburst at a coal mine in northwest China's Gansu Province, local officials said on Saturday.

The accident took place at about 11 PM Friday at Yaojie township of Lanzhou, said Zhou Chuanhai, an official with the provincial coal mine safety administration.

Rescuers found three miners early Saturday morning, but two of them died later in hospital while the other is recovering.

(Xinhua News Agency April 7, 2007)