Another 12 miners remained missing with hopes for their survival fading as the blaze continued to burn a day after it started, state media said.

The fire broke out early Saturday at a mine in Hegang city in Heilongjiang province, Xinhua quoted local authorities as saying.

Initially, five deaths were reported.

"The fire was still spreading and the shaft roof over the fire was about to crumble. The density of toxic gases kept increasing, making the rescue work even more difficult," a rescue spokesman was quoted saying.

The mine's owner, manager, two vice managers and an engineer have been detained by police and their bank accounts frozen, Xinhua reported.

The city has ordered all its coal mines to suspend operations pending inspections. Mine safety authorities are investigating the cause of the blaze, it added.

China's coal mines are among the most dangerous in the world, with safety standards often ignored in the quest for profits and the drive to meet surging demand for coal -- the source of about 70 percent of the country's energy.

Nearly 3,800 people died in Chinese coal mines last year, according to official figures, although independent monitors say the real figure is probably much higher since many accidents are covered up.

On Sunday, 37 miners died from inhaling toxic gases in a coal mine in Henan province in central China, Xinhua reported separately.

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