16 workers have died and one is in a critical condition after being trapped in a coal mine in Southwest China, AFP reported quoting state broadcaster CCTV. 

In the early hours of the morning, the mine’s conveyor belt caught fire, state news agency Xinhua cited the government as saying, which produced dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.

More than 100 rescuers and medics are at the site and currently trying to save the remaining survivor. 

The cause of the accident is still under investigation, said the Qijiang district government on social media platform Weibo.

Also read: 17 people trapped after carbon monoxide leaked in a Chinese coal mine

The facility, Songzao coal mine is owned by the state energy firm Chongqing Energy and located just outside the city of Chongqing.

However, this is not the first time that such an incident has taken place in the country.

At least 14 miners were killed in a coal and gas blast last December at a mine in southwestern Guizhou province. In December 2018, seven miners were killed in Chongqing after the connecting segment of a skip broke and fell down a shaft.

In October 2018, 21 miners died in eastern Shandong province after pressure inside a mine caused rocks to fracture and break, trapping the workers inside and only one of them survived.