Nine people were killed in a coal mine fire in north China's Shanxi Province on Sunday, local authority confirmed.

The accident occurred around 4:00 AM when the conveyance belt of the mining machine caught fire at the Fengjialing Coal Mine in Shuozhou City, according to Shanxi Provincial Work Safety Bureau.

Twenty-seven miners were working in the shaft when the fire broke out. Twelve of them escaped from the scene and rescuers saved another six.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.

The coal mine, with an annual production capacity of 90,000 tons, is a licensed one.

(Xinhua News Agency March 3, 2008)