Jinzhong (China), Aug 25 (Xinhua) A blast in a coal mine in China's Shanxi province left 11 people dead and three missing, authorities said.

The explosion Monday ripped through a shaft of the Xingguang Coal Industry Co. Ltd. in Jinzhong city when 16 miners were working there, according to the Coal Industry Administration of Shanxi.

Eleven bodies were recovered.

The rescuers were trying to send a pipe into the 300-metre-deep shaft to increase ventilation.

The mine, with a reserve of 203 million tonnes, belongs to the Shanxi International Electricity Group.