The blast occurred around dawn in a coal mine belonging to the state-run Henan Hebi Coal Company, Xinhua News Agency said.

So far, 34 bodies have been found, a company official said. "It was an explosion, 34 people were killed. Investigations are going on," said the official who refused to give his name.

He declined to say if any miners were missing or injured.

"I have heard that there was an accident today, but I don't know about the details," he said.

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Much of China shuts down during the current National Day holiday week but the unrelenting demand for coal to drive the country's booming economy and rapid industrialization forces many mines to remain open.

China's mines are the world's deadliest with safety often sacrificed. In recent years, Beijing has tried various measures to improve mine safety but they have all been largely ineffective, with figures showing around 6,000 miners die every year through accidents often linked to poor safety measures.

The Henan Hebi Coal official insisted the mine where the blast took place Monday was "up to standard."

The company is registered as a large state-run enterprise with assets worth 4.6 billion yuan (HK$4.41 billion) in 2004. It runs eight major mines with annual production at over seven million tonnes.

In August, China ordered 7,000 coal mines to suspend operations by the end of the year to curb deaths from accidents linked to poor safety standards.

Mining accidents claimed 2,700 lives in the first half of 2005 alone. Another 700 died or were missing in the six weeks up to August 15.

In an attempt to curb the number of accidents, up to one-third of all of China's coal mines could be shut down permanently by the end of the year after a nationwide inspection, the China Daily quoted Li Yizhong, director of the State Administration of Work Safety, as saying. "We will give them one [last] chance by suspending production to root out unsafe practices." AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS