Seven people have been killed in a cave-in at a coal mine in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Xinhua learned on Sunday.

The accident occurred at about 4:00 PM on Saturday when eight miners were working at the Jinmei coal mine in Changji City. Six people were killed on the spot, one died on the way to hospital and the other was safe, said a local government official.

The coal mine has been ordered to suspend production. Investigations are underway into the cause of the accident.

The mine is 50 km away from Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang. The mine has an annual capacity of 30,000 tons. It is in process of being expanded to raise its annual capacity to 90,000 tons.

(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2007)