All ten people trapped underground after a gas explosion at a coal mine in Jixi City in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province have died, said the local safety watchdog.

Rescuers have retrieved their bodies from the Xingyun Colliery in Jidong County, according to a statement from the provincial production safety supervision and administration bureau.

The explosion occurred at 10:10 a.m. on Sunday. The cause of the accident is being investigated.