At least 10 people have died and six are missing in an accident at a coal mine in central China, state media said on Saturday.
The tragedy occurred at 2:55 p.m. (06:55 GMT Friday) the day before at a mine more than 700 km from Beijing in Pingdingshan, Hebei province, public television CCTV reported.
The preliminary investigation points to a firestorm, according to the official news agency New China.
Mine safety in China has improved significantly in recent decades, as has media coverage of these incidents, many of which were once overlooked.
However, due to the dangers in the industry and the sometimes arbitrary application of safety regulations, accidents still occur regularly.
In December, an accident at another coal mine in Heilongjiang, northeast China, killed 12 people.
Previously, at least 16 people died in a coal mine fire in the southwestern province of Guizhou in September.
Last year, 53 people died when an open-cast mine collapsed in Inner Mongolia (north) in February. Dozens of people and vehicles were buried.