The bodies of seven missing miners were found in a coal mine pit Thursday, four days after a gas leak Sunday in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, local authorities said.

The gas leak occurred at 00:46 a.m. Sunday and trapped all seven miners underground at the Mingfangou Coal Mine, run by Huadi Investment Co., Ltd., in the northern mountainous region of Kuqa County, said a spokesman with the county rescue headquarters.

The first body was found at 00:54 a.m. Thursday after rescuers spotted a miner's cap and lamp nearby. The other bodies were retrieved at 2:39 a.m., the spokesman said.

The bereaved families have arrived at the county.

Rescuers could only search the shaft for short intervals due to the high gas content in the pit and poor visibility caused by coal dust. While searching for the miners, rescuers had to ventilate and spray water into the shaft to decrease the gas density and reduce dust, the spokesman said.

Police are investigating the incident.