Six miners died and six more are missing after the roof of a shaft collapsed at a small coalmine in Lianyuan, a city in central China's Hunan Province.

The accident occurred at around 1 PM on Sunday at Guanyin Coal Mine of Anping Township, when 48 miners were working in the shaft. Most of the bodies were recovered in a section where 15 miners had been working, according to local rescue headquarters.

No more information was available on the fate of the missing miners.

Guanyin Coal Mine is a township-administered venture capable of producing 30,000 tons of coal annually but there have been questions about the legality of its operation, said Liu Shidong, director of Loudi City Coal Industry Bureau, who went to the mine to direct rescue operations.

Apparently the mine's work safety license had been revoked before the accident. The mine has been ordered to suspend production.

(Xinhua News Agency December 4, 2006)