Rescuers have retrieved two bodies as of Monday from a coal and gas blast in a colliery in the central Hunan Province, a local official said.

But the location of two other miners who were found to be missing after the blast in the Xinqiao mine in Lianyuan City remained unknown, according to Yu Mingting, the city's Party chief.

Preliminary investigation shows that nine miners working about 80 meters underground at about 9:30 AM on Sunday were trapped after more than 300 tonnes of coal burst out from the coal bed, releasing a huge amount of gas.

Rescuers had freed five of the trapped workers in the first few hours, and are still searching for the missing.

(Xinhua News Agency May 6, 2008)