URUMQI - Seventeen miners trapped after a coal mine gas blast in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region have been confirmed dead, according to the rescue headquarters.

The explosion happened at 8:43 pm on Saturday when 20 people were working inside the No.1 pit mined by Dahuangshan Yuxin Coal Mining Co. Ltd., which is 120 km from the regional capital of Urumqi, according to a Monday statement from the headquarters.

Three of the miners were rescued while the others were trapped underground, it said.

The company is owned by the sixth agriculture division of the Xinjiang Construction Corps, a paramilitary organization. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

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