Rescuers are searching for the 10 miners trapped underground after a tunnel collapsed at noon on Sunday in a coal mine on the outskirts of Beijing.

The accident occurred in Da'anshan Coal Mine in Fangshan District, 90 km from downtown Beijing, while 16 miners were working underground in the east and west tunnels.

Those trapped were working in the east tunnel.

Local leaders, including Beijing Mayor Wang Qishan, and senior officials from the State Administration of Work Safety, rushed to the scene to direct the rescue work.

It is a tough task to rescue the trapped as the east tunnel collapsed completely, not partly, said rescuers.

Four workers were trapped in a coal mine in Xingyang City of central China's Henan Province after gas leaked in the mine around 4 am on Monday, according to the local government.

Rescuers said that so far they have not found any sign of the four workers, who are from the Kaiyuan Colliery at the city's Liuhe Town.

The local government has set up a rescue team, comprised of officials from the public security, health and work safety supervision departments.

The cause of the gas leak is being investigated and rescue work is underway.

(Xinhua News Agency June 7, 2004)