(RTTNews) - In the latest deadly mine accident to strike China's dangerous mining industry, an explosion rocked a colliery in the central Chinese city of Pingdingshan in Henan province early Monday killing 46 miners, state media reported.

An official of Henan province, the third-largest coal producing province, said 26 miners, six with serious burns, were rescued while 46 were confirmed dead.

The blast occurred at around 1:40 a.m. (1740 GMT) in the Xingdong No 2 Mine in Weidong district when a pack of gunpowder kept underground detonated trapping 72 miners working at that time, the State Administration of Work Safety said.

It said cause of the explosion in the mine, which had recently expanded capacity by 50 per cent to 90,000 metric tons annually, is still unknown.

China's mining industry is the deadliest in the world as officials and mining agencies indulge in over mining to meet the country's growing energy needs.

Many of the unlicensed mines in China are trying to make the most of the prevailing high coal prices. Lax safety standards in the quest for profits and the drive to meet surging demand for coal--the source of about 70 per cent of China's energy--have made the country's mines the most dangerous in the world, despite the government's crackdown on illegal and unsafe mines.

According to official statistics, deaths from coal mine accidents dropped to 2,631 last year, an average of seven a day, from 3,215 in 2008 and 6,995 in 2002, the worst year on record. But independent labor groups say the actual figure could be much higher as many accidents are covered up to avoid costly mine shutdowns.