Eight miners were trapped when the accident occurred at 10:50 a.m. at the privately-owned Dahenan Colliery in Huazi Township in Dengta, a city about 50 kilometers south of provincial capital Shenyang.

Three of the miners managed to escape the pit by themselves and two others were saved in the search-and-rescue operation that began within 30 minutes of the accident being reported, said a Dengta city government spokesman.

Rescuers are still searching for the three missing people.

Surging demand for winter coal has spurred production but also caused a string of deadly accidents.

In one of the most recent tragedies, a colliery flood killed six miners and left two missing in southwestern Guizhou Province on Sunday.

On Monday, 25 people were confirmed dead and nine others missing in a deadly coal mine fire in north China's coal-rich Shanxi Province, where a fatal gas blast trapped 47 on November 5.