Seven people were killed and two are still missing after a coal mine flood in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, the local safety authority said.

The accident occurred at around 2:40 p.m. on Monday in Lutang coal mine, which belonged to the state-owned Chongqing Zhongliangshan Coal Electric Limited Liability Company, a Chongqing municipal work safety bureau official said on Tuesday.

The coal mine, in the Pengshui Miao and Tujia Autonomous County, produces 120,000 tonnes each year.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.

(Xinhua News Agency April 9, 2008)