The explosion took place on Wednesday morning but confirmation on the status of all victims was not established until yesterday afternoon, said official state media outlet Xinhua,

The Wunan coal mine is a privately owned operation in Anhui province’s heavily industrialized city of Huaibei.

The city’s municipal government has suspended production at all local coal mines as an investigation into the exact nature of the blast continues.

Huaibei is the principal hub of eastern Chinese coal output, producing some two billion tons of raw coal per annum.

The news coincides with reports of a deadly shaft collapse Wednesday at the Shuimichong coal in Yunnan province.

Three miners have so far been confirmed dead due to the cave-in, as rescuers continue to search for an unaccounted for worker.