DATONG, Shanxi Province, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Forty-five miners involved in a coal mine gas poisoning in north China's Shanxi Province have been rescued, but some others may still be trapped and one has already been confirmed dead.

Previous reports quoted local government officials as saying that 34 miners were working underground when the accident happened at the Danangou Coal Mine in Datong at noon on Wednesday, and that23 miners were still trapped in the coal mine.

However, Zhang Riming, head of the rescue headquarters for the accident, told Xinhua that rescuers had lifted 45 trapped miners out of the mine so far and one of them was in danger.

"We have to make further investigations to see if there are any others still trapped underground," said Zhang.

Misoperation was blamed for the gas poisoning.

"The miners failed to carry out production according to the mining map and they might have accidentally opened up the gas pool," said Zhang.

Most of the workers are from the provinces of Sichuan and Shaanxi, western China, according to Zhang.

With an annual production of 90,000 tons, the privately owned Danangou Coal Mine is a qualified coal mine and possesses all the required licenses for operation from the local government.

The mine owner, who was also injured in the accident, was under the surveillance of local public security department.

Local police are verifying the number of the miners who worked in the mine Wednesday.

Early on Wednesday morning, flooding trapped 15 miners in another privately-owned coal mine in the city of Tonghua, in northeastern Jilin Province.

The trapped miners were very hopeful to survive the flooding. The rescue operation went on smoothly and rescuers could hear the cries for help from the trapped miners, said Yuan Yuqing, deputy director of the Jilin Provincial Coal Mining Bureau

Nineteen workers were working underground when the accident happened at around 5 a.m. on Wednesday at the Xiren Coal Mine in the town of Wudaojiang. Four managed to escape, said Liang Xueping, deputy director of the work safety supervision administration of Tonghua City.

Five pumps have been pumping out water since 2 p.m. on Wednesday, said Yuan.

Some of the trapped miners are from southwestern Sichuan Province and the rest are local villagers, he added.

The privately-owned Xiren Coal Mine is a qualified coal mine and its annual production is 30,000 tons. No accident has ever happened at the mine before, according to Yuan.

Investigation into the causes of the two accidents are both underway. Enditem