The explosion occurred at the Baixing Coal Mine near the city of Jixi, in north-east China's Heilongjiang province on Monday.

Rescuers recovered another eight bodies from the site on Tuesday while workers were still struggling to find five miners trapped underground, the Xinhua news agency quoted Vice Mayor Xu Zhenlin of Jixi city as saying.

But chances of pulling the five out alive were slim, with poisonous gas and fallen rocks in the shaft complicating rescue efforts.

Investigations into the accident were still under way, but it appears as if the owner, Wang Shijun reopened the mine this month after being shut down by mine safety officials only days before.

Xu said the government has asked all 331 coal pits and small mines in Jixi city to halt operations and wait until safety inspections have been carried out.

Accidents in China's mines caused 7,197 deaths in the first 10 months of last year, according to official figures, believed by some to significantly underestimate the extent of industrial safety records.