CHANGSHA -?All small collieries were suspended and two officials dismissed in central China's Hunan Province after a coal mine blast Tuesday killed nine and injured three.

Starting Wednesday, coal mines with annual capacity of less than 300,000 tonnes will suspend operation for two weeks for safety inspections, according to Yang Guangrong, deputy governor, during an urgent video conference on safety production Wednesday.

Both the Party chief and head of Doulishan Township, where the accident occurred, have been dismissed.

The blast occurred at 1:37 a.m. Tuesday at Zubao Coal Mine in Lianyuan city. A total of 29 people were working underground, 16 of whom managed to escape from the shaft. A further four were rescued, with three of them injured.

Work to retrieve the bodies of three victims is ongoing.