A colliery blast killed 16 miners as of 2:30 PM Friday in Usu, a city in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, local government officials said Friday.

The accident occurred at about 6:10 PM Thursday, at the Dianzhangou Zhongxing Coal Mine, about 50 kilometers to the south of the urban area of Usu.

The cause for this disaster is under investigation.

(Xinhua News Agency October 29, 2005)