The accident occurred around 11:15 a.m. local time in the territory of the city of Baiyin, in Gansu province (northwest), the channel said, adding that the rescue operations were now over.

Staff were moving around the mine site "when the collapse of a mountainside adjacent to the mine occurred", which "buried these employees as well as vehicles", explained the CCTV channel.

A total of 17 people were trapped.

According to the final report established Saturday evening after the discovery of a last body, "10 people died and seven were slightly injured", according to public television, which quotes the local authorities.

"An investigation is underway (to determine the causes) of the accident," she said.

Safety instructions

Mine safety has improved in recent decades in China, as has the media coverage of accidents, many of which were once overlooked.

But accidents still occur regularly, due to the danger inherent in the sector and the sometimes random application of safety instructions, especially on the most rudimentary sites.

Last September, 19 miners stranded underground after the collapse of a coal mine in Qinghai province (northwest) were found dead after a long search.

In early 2021, 11 miners from a group of 22 were rescued from a collapsed mine in eastern Shandong province, after spending two weeks stranded hundreds of meters underground.

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