Seven people were confirmed dead and another injured in a gas blast Sunday morning at a coal mine in southwestern China's Guizhou Province, the provincial work safety authorities said Monday.

The accident occurred at around 7:50 a.m. Sunday at Xinhua Coal Mine in Jinsha County, when 68 miners were working in the shaft. Sixty-one miners escaped and the other seven were killed on the spot. Of the escaped, one was slightly injured and had been sent to hospital.

The coal mine is licensed with a designed annual production capacity of 150,000 tonnes.

Cause of the accident is being investigated.