After being trapped underground in a coal mine in southwest China on Sunday, sixteen workers died and one is in a critical condition

Government said that a conveyor belt caught fire in the early hours of the morning and produced dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.

Medics are struggling to save the life of the remaining survivor.

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

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

China holds high record for common mining accidents as the industry has a poor safety record, and regulations are often weakly enforced.

No fewer than 14 miners were killed in a coal and gas blast last December at a mine in southwestern Guizhou province.

Seven miners in December 2018 were killed in Chongqing after the connecting segment of a skip broke and fell down a shaft. Also in October of same year, 21 miners died in eastern Shandong province after pressure inside a mine caused rocks to fracture and break, blocking the tunnel and trapping the workers. Only one miner was rescued alive.