May 20 (Bloomberg) -- Rescue workers found two bodies after a gas explosion at a coal mine in China's northern province of Hebei, the government said. Forty-nine miners remain missing.

Fifty-one workers were in the mine when the blast occurred at 3 a.m. on May 19, the State Administration of Work Safety said on its Web site today.

China, the world's biggest coal producer, has one of the worst mine-safety records because old and unsafe pits have been kept open to meet demand for coal, iron ore and other raw materials needed to fuel the nation's economic growth. China's economy grew 9.5 percent in the first quarter, spurring demand for coal burned in power plants.

China's death toll from coal mining accidents in the first quarter rose 21 percent from a year earlier to 1,113, the work safety agency said April 5. The number of accidents fell 7.4 percent to 503.

To contact the reporter on this story: Wing-Gar Cheng in Beijing at wgcheng@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 19, 2005 21:10 EDT