Beijing - A fire killed at least five people and trapped 27 others underground Saturday at a coal mine in north-eastern China's Heilongjiang province, the government said.

Forty-four miners were working underground and 12 escaped after the fire broke out around 3:30 am (1930 GMT Friday) at the Fuhua mine in Hegang city, the State Administration of Work Safety said on its website.

Rescuers had recovered five bodies by Saturday afternoon and were still searching for the other missing miners, the official Xinhua news agency said.

The privately run Fuhua coal mine was fully licensed to produce up to 60,000 tons of coal annually, the administration said.

The cause of the accident was under investigation, the reports said.

Accidents kill an estimated 10,000 people annually in Chinese mines. The accidents are often triggered by outdated equipment and poor safety measures with many occurring at illegal mines. (dpa)