A coal mine gas blast left 11 miners dead and five others missing in southwest China's Guizhou Province yesterday, local authorities said.

The accident took place at about O:20 a.m. in the Yile Coal Mine located at the Shuitang Town of Panxian County, said a spokesman with the Guizhou Provincial Administration of Coal Mine Safety.

Twenty-five miners were working underground when the blast occurred, and only nine managed to escape, the spokesman said.

Parts of the underground tunnel collapsed due to the blast, and rescuers are still struggling to search for the five missing people, he said.

The owner of the coal mine, which has an annual output capacity of 60,000 tons, has been taken into custody, he added.

The cause of the blast remains unknown.