At least 46 people were killed and 50 remained trapped when a gas blast ripped through a coal mine in north China, local officials said on Thursday. Five others were rescued, the officials quoted by Xinhua news agency said.

The blast occurred in the village-run pit in Hongtong County of Linfen, a resource-rich city in Shanxi Province, it said. Accidents take place regularly in China's mine. Officials have confirmed that more than 4,700 coal miners died in China last year.