One person is dead and five are missing after a gas burst at a coal mine in southwest China's Guizhou Province on Friday, work safety officials said.

The accident occurred at 12:30 PM at the Leijiashan coal mine in Zunyi County when 36 miners were working underground, of whom 30 managed to escape, according to the Guizhou Provincial Bureau of Work Safety.

Rescuers found one body in the afternoon, but five miners were still missing, an official said.

The coal mine was being expanded to increase capacity from 30,000 tons annually to 60,000 tons when the accident happened.

An investigation into the cause of the accident is underway.

(Xinhua News Agency September 1, 2007)