Twenty two miners have been confirmed dead after a gas leak occurred in a coal mine in southwest China's Yunnan province Thursday morning, rescue headquarters said Saturday.

Rescuers on Thursday enter a shaft at the Sizhuang Coal Mine in Shizong county, Yunnan province, where a coal and gas outburst killed 20 people and trapped 23. [Photo / China Daily]

Twenty bodies have been retrieved from the mine, and 21 miners are still trapped underground as of 2 p.m. Saturday. Six rescue teams are taking turns searching for the trapped miners. The families of 17 victims have received 10,000 yuan (1,577 U.S. dollars) for funeral expenses, respectively. Each dead miner's family will get a compensation package of 660,000 yuan, according to rescue headquarters.

About 240 tonnes of coal dust has been cleared out and a 250-meter-long section of the mine tunnel has been cleared.

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