Six miners died in a coal mine blast on Wednesday in southwestern Chongqing Municipality, local authorities said on Thursday.

The gas explosion occurred at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday as eight miners were working underground in Dayang Coal Mine in Zhonggang Town of Wuxi County. Two of them escaped while the other six were killed, according to the information office of Wuxi County.

The bodies of the six had been found by 5:00 a.m. on Thursday, it said.

The mine owner continued to organize illegal digging regardless of the local government's order on Tuesday to shut it down to clear safety problems, said the information office.

Police were searching for the owner and investigating the cause of the accident.

(Xinhua News Agency, March 13, 2008)