In the early hours of Wednesday, 21 bodies are retrieved out of the entrance of the coal pit, which is the first batch of victim remains conveyed up to the ground since the accident occurred. (Xinhua Photo)

Sixty-five bodies have been found from the site of the gas explosion accident that happened Sunday at the Chenjiashan coal mine in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

Officials with the State Administration of Work Safety, announced the latest death toll Wednesday morning, adding that there were still 101 miners trapped underground.

The officials said that in the early hours of Wednesday, 21 bodies were retrieved out of the entrance of the coal pit, which was the first batch of victim remains conveyed up to the ground since the accident occurred.

According to Huo Shichang, head of the provincial coal industry administration, nearly 100 rescuers are searching for the missing.

At 7:20 Sunday morning, 293 miners were working underground when the gas explosion happened at coal pits some 8,000 meters away from the tunnel entrance. A total of 127 miners, who worked mostly near the entrance, were rescued.

The Chenjiashan coal mine is a state-owned venture under the jurisdiction of the Tongchuan Mining Administration. It has more than 3,400 employees and produces 2.3 million tons of coal a year.

The coal mine is a high-gas-density colliery, featuring intergrowth of coal, oil and gas. Its coal bed remains responsive to fires. The mine used to suffer a fire every three to six months,and the shortest break between two fires was 24 days. The Sunday explosion devastated all ventilation systems underground, with a great deal of harmful gas bursting out. The main ventilation system resumed operation on Monday. According to preliminary analysis, there still exists flaming areas underground, exposing the mine to a new accident and threatening the ongoing rescue work.