Rescuers found bodies of 17 miners who had been trapped underground after the mine accident in Heilongjiang Province on March 9, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted local officials as saying.
The workers were in a cage which suddenly fell down during operation after its electric cable caught fire at Dongrong SecondMineof the Shuangyashan branch of LongmayMiningHolding Group.
A total of 256 miners escaped, local officials said.
"I was working underground when the accident happened. I smelt choking smoke in the shaft," said a worker surnamed Zhang, who was lifted out of themine with others.