Eleven people were confirmed dead in a coal mine gas blast Wednesday morning in northwest China's Gansu Province, said local work safety bureau.

The explosion occurred at 6:20 in the No.1 coal mine in Tanshanling town, Wuwei city, more than 180 kilometers from Lanzhou, the provincial capital.

Officials from the provincial work safety bureau and Wuwei city government are en route to the coal mine.

The officials gave no further details of the blast, including the total number of miners working underground when the incident happened.

(Xinhua News Agency November 29, 2006)