This article is 15 years old. Images might not display.
According to Xinhua, 21 workers were in the shaft at the Shajihai coal operation in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous county of Hoboksar when the incident occurred at about 10am.
Eleven were safely lifted to the surface and rescue operations by safety authorities have begun to reach the remaining 10.
The cause of the collapse is still under investigation, the news service said.
The Shajihai mine, owned by Luneng Coal-Electricity Development, began construction last June and should be operational next October.
The operation has an annual capacity of 900,000 tonnes.

