The first gas blast took place on Sunday in a coalmine in Yongxing County, central China's Hunan Province, leaving 11 miners trapped.

This explosion occurred at around 17:00 Sunday at Gaoping Colliery at Xiangmei Village of Yongxing County, according to the local government.

Due to the high levels of gas underground the rescuers have so far been unable to enter the mine to conduct a search..

Gaoping Colliery, with an annual production capacity of 20,000 tons, is a county-owned coalmine. Provincial and county officials are at the site to organize rescue work which is ongoing.

Meanwhile, twenty-five miners were trapped in a colliery gas blast in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in the early hours of Monday according to the local government.

Altogether 33 miners were working in the pit when the blast occurred at around 4:00 AM Monday at Rongsheng Colliery in Jiudonggou Village of Otog Banner in the southwestern part of the region, said an official with the regional public security department.

By 10:00 AM, eight miners had been rescued but the whereabouts of the other 25 remained unknown. Rescuers continue to search for the missing miners.

(Xinhua News Agency March 13, 2006)