Twenty-six miners were killed in a coal mine fire Friday morning in north China's Hebei Province, said officials of the provincial supervision bureau on coal mine safety Saturday.

The tragedy occurred around 8 o'clock on Friday morning in Wuan City when 36 miners were working underground. Ten miners escaped.

After more than 10 hours of search, rescuers found 26 miner bodies Friday night.

Preliminary investigation showed that the cables in the coal mine caught fire, which later ignited mine timbers and led to the tragedy.

Officials with the provincial supervision bureau on coal mine safety have arrived at the site to monitor rescue efforts and further investigation is underway.