The blast last Wednesday at the Yaotou mine in Shaanxi province's Chengcheng County trapped 36 miners in an underground shaft, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. The mine is state-owned and run by the local government.

Seven miners managed to escape, but rescuers are still searching for five others who remain missing, Xinhua said, citing local officials.

'The concentration of the poisonous gas is high and their chance of survival is slim,' it quoted a local official as saying.

The latest body was found on Sunday in the mine shaft where the accident occurred, Xinhua said.

The accident was one of several at mines across China this past week. Seven miners were still trapped after a mine in neighboring Shanxi province flooded Wednesday. Another mine flood Wednesday in central China's Henan province killed one miner and trapped seven, Xinhua said.

China's mining industry is the world's deadliest, with numerous fires, floods and other disasters killing nearly 3,800 people last year.

The country is the largest producer and consumer of coal, which has fueled its economic boom and accounts for 70 per cent of its energy consumption. -- AP