A total of 13 workers have been choked to death in a fire at a gold mine in Sanmenxia City, central China's Henan Province, the municipal government said Wednesday. And?a coal mine gas explosion in Henan killed 42,?left 37 still trapped underground on Tuesday.

The bodies have been retrieved and sent to a funeral home.

A cave-in cut off electric wires and triggered a fire at about 9 p.m. Tuesday at a gold mine owned by Jinyuan Mining Co., the government confirmed.

Authorities earlier said the accident occurred at about 5 a.m. Wednesday.

At the time of the fire 12 miners were working underground, and six fled to safety. The mine sent eight rescuers down the pit, but seven were trapped by the fire.

Further investigation is underway.

Coal mine gas explosion

A coal mine gas explosion killed 42,?left 37 trapped underground on Tuesday in central China's Henan Province, the local safety watchdog said Wednesday morning.?

Rescuers take part in the rescue work at the Xinhua No. 4 coal mine in Xinhua District of Pingdingshan City, central China's Henan Province, on Sept. 8, 2009. [Xinhua]

The deadly gas blast took place around 1 a.m. Tuesday in the Xinhua No. 4 pit in Xinhua District of Pingdingshan City, said a spokesman with the Henan Provincial Bureau of Work Safety.

A total of 93 people were working in the pit when the accident happened, 14 of whom managed to escape.

The accident has aroused the attention of top leadership, including President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao. Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang arrived in Pingdingshan with a government delegation at 1:10 p.m. Tuesday.

Rescuers walk at the Xinhua No. 4 coal mine in Xinhua District of Pingdingshan City, central China's Henan Province, on Sept. 8, 2009. [Xinhua]

Qi Tongyan, deputy head of Xinhua District of Pingdingshan City, and Zhang Xizhi, a coal industry administration official of the city, were dismissed from their posts Tuesday afternoon, about 10 hours after the deadly gas blast.

(Xinhua News Agency September 9, 2009)