XINMI, Oct 21: An underground gas explosion which ripped through a mine in central China killed at least 60 workers and left 88 missing in one of the country's worst mining disasters in recent memory, officials said on Thursday.

The shafts of the Daping coal mine near Xinmi in Henan province were packed with around 450 workers when disaster struck on Wednesday just as two shifts were changing over, mine officials said.

More than 100 rescuers battling toxic gases were searching for survivors as anxious relatives waited for news about their loved ones.

The accident is yet another blow to China's beleaguered coal mining industry. China is the biggest consumer and producer of coal but faulty safety standards contribute to thousands of mining deaths each year. The authorities held out little hope of finding survivors.

An employee at the Zhengzhou Coal Industry Group, which runs the mine, said the blast happened at one of the pit's busiest times when 446 miners were listed as being underground.

The Daping coal mine, established in 1986, is one of Zhengzhou Coal Industry Group's largest with an annual output of one million tonnes, a website run by the Zhengzhou city government said.-AFP