Beijing: At least 86 miners are reported missing when a gas blast ripped through a coal mine in East China's Anhui province on May 13 evening.

According to the local administrations, 113 miners were working in the Luling coal mine at the time of blast and 27 have been rescued, Xinhua news agency reported on May 14.

The cause of the blast is still under investigation, a source was quoted as saying.

Thousands of coal miners die each year in China in mine-related accidents, which authorities say is caused mainly by lax safety standards in remote and privately-run mines in the villages.

PTI