Five people had been confirmed dead in a gas explosion at a coal mine in southwest China's Yunnan Province, a local government spokesman said Wednesday.

The accident happened at about 4:40 p.m. Tuesday at the Hengda Coal Mine in Yiliang County of Zhaotong City, leaving one person injured, another missing and four others trapped underground.

On Wednesday afternoon, rescuers recovered the five bodies of the missing and the trapped; 12 workers were poisoned during the rescue operation.

Four people, including a vice manager of the mine, were held accountable for the accident. They have been detained, and an investigation into the cause has begun.

The 12 injured people were in hospital, out of danger.

The fully-registered mine has an annual production capacity of 40,000 tonnes.

(Xinhua News Agency September 11, 2008)