At least five coal miners were trapped underground early Saturday by a mine explosion in Jixi city of China's northernmost Heilongjiang province, local work safety officials said.

The blast occurred at Hada Village of Jidong County at about 5:00 am when an unknown number of miners were working underground, they said.

The owner of the mine has fled after the accident and the coal mine has no operation license from the state, according to the Heilongjiang provincial coal mine safety supervision authorities.

Rescue work is going on by press time and local government officials have rushed to the scene. The cause of the explosion is under investigation.

(Xinhua News Agency April 10, 2004)