10 coal miners feared dead in China

URUMQI, China, April 3 (UPI) -- Ten miners trapped underground in a coal mine in northwestern China are believed to be dead, officials said.

The miners were trapped in the Aiwei'ergou coal mine in the provincial capital of Urumqi, in China's Innjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Xinhua reported Sunday.

Officials said no signs of life were detected in the mine following 20 hours of rescue efforts. A preliminary investigation found the accident was caused by an outbreak of gas.

The mine was undergoing a large project to increase annual production to about a million tons of coal annually.