Officials responsible for covering up a coal mine accident that killed at least nine people in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province were dismissed while the mine' boss and managers were dealt with by police, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The coal mine accident killed at least nine people in China's Heilongjiang Province.

Fang Dongchu, deputy general secretary of Jixi government confirmed that Han Shuguo, deputy head of Didao District in the city of Jixi, was removed from his position. Three other officials, including the director of the district's safety supervision and coal mine administration bureau Liu Chonghe, were also dismissed.

The coal mine's owner and managers were handled by police for further investigation, Fang added.

The mine owner confessed the miners had been killed in the accident in coal-rich Jixi City's Didao District on April 26, Fang said.

Government officials had immediately ordered reporters not to report anything about the April 26 catastrophe, the Beijing Times reported. The Didao district officials even told the media two days later that no explosion had been found after their investigation.

Their coverup faltered upon the arrival of a Heilongjiang provincial investigation team on Saturday.

Rescuers are working to retrieve the bodies of some deceased miners still buried underground, Fang said.

With a production capacity of 40,000 tons a year, the private mine is suspected of having engaged in illegal production as it had been ordered to close for renovation at the time of the accident, xinhua reported.