Sixteen people have been confirmed dead in a coal-mine fire in the city of Panzhou, southwest China's Guizhou Province, on Sunday morning, local authorities said.
The fire occurred around 8:10 a.m. at the Shanjiaoshu Coal Mine in Panguan Town, according to the city government of Panzhou.
Initial investigations suggest that the 16 people were trapped after a conveyor belt caught fire.
The blaze has been extinguished, and temperatures have returned to normal at the site of the fire, officials said.
This photo taken with a mobile phone on Sept. 25, 2023 shows the shaft entrance at the first mining area of the Shanjiaoshu Coal Mine in Panguan Township in the city of Panzhou, southwest China's Guizhou Province. Sixteen people were dead in a fire of the Shanjiaoshu Coal Mine in Panzhou of Guizhou Sunday morning, local authorities said. (Xinhua/Yang Wenbin)