Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) -- A gas blast at a coal mine in southern China killed 13 miners, leaving three others missing, the State Administration of Work Safety said on its Web site.

Forty-nine miners were working underground when the explosion occurred at 1:30 a.m. in Guizhou province, the agency said. Thirty-three people escaped, including four who were injured, the report said.

In northern China today, the death toll from a coal mine explosion on Nov. 28 climbed to 166 after all the remaining trapped miners were declared dead, China National Radio reported on its Web site, citing an unidentified government spokesman. State-run Xinhua News Agency earlier today said 65 miners were confirmed dead, with an additional 101 trapped.

The blast, which occurred at the state-owned Chenjiashan mine in Shaanxi province, was China's third major mining accident in six weeks and possibly its worst mine disaster in at least 15 years. More than 7,000 workers die each year in China's coal mines, considered the world's most dangerous, as the mainland's energy demands soar.

To contact the reporter for this story: Jiang Jianguo in Shanghai at jjiang@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 1, 2004 01:23 EST