KUNMING - One miner was killed and another eight trapped in a coal and gas outburst at a coal mine early Sunday in Southwest China's Yunnan province, local authorities said.

The accident happened around 4 am when 12 miners were tunneling a mine shaft at the Bailongshan Coal Mine in the city of Qujing. Three of them were lifted out of the shaft, said a spokesman with the city's emergency response office.

Rescuers are trying to reduce the gas density to save the trapped miners, and the cause of the accident is being investigated.

The coal mine is operated by the Diandong Energy Co., Ltd. under the China Huaneng Group, a major state-owned energy company.