Police were notified early on Friday that nine workers were trapped in an illegal coal mine that collapsed on Wednesday in the Guye District of Tangshan, a city in north China's Hebei Province.
A rescue operation is under way.
Police said the nine miners were hired by a businessman, Han Fengguo, who allegedly had an underground passage dug beneath his coal-retailing business, to enable illegal coal extraction from a mine owned by the Zhaogezhuang branch of Kailuan Group, a state-owned coal-mining giant.
The surface of the passage collapsed early on Wednesday during heavy rain, trapping the nine workers, according to a preliminary investigation.
Han has been detained by the police.
Tangshan, located on the Bohai Bay, is about 200 km northeast of Beijing.
Source: Xinhua
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