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A gas explosion tore through a state-run coal mine at Hegang in northern China on Saturday, killing at least 42 people and trapping 66 others hundreds of meters (yards) under ground.

The death toll rose quickly from an initial death toll of 23.

The State Administration of Work Safety said in a statement 528 people were working in the Xinxing mine in Heilongjiang province at the time of the explosion at 2:30 a.m. on Saturday. It said 389 escaped after the blast.

China Central Television reported that the explosion, about a third of a mile (500 meters/yards) under ground, was caused by a buildup of gas, and shattered windows within 20 meters (22 yards) of the mine shaft.

The mine is run by one of China''s top 520 state-owned enterprises, according to the Web site of its owner, the Hegang branch of the Heilongjiang Longmei Holding Mining Group.

The site says the Hegang branch has more than 88-thousand employees.

The mine is located near the border with Russia, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) northeast of the provincial capital, Harbin.

The accident was a blow for the Chinese government, whose large state-owned coal mines are generally considered to be safer than smaller, private ones. The country''s mines remain the world''s deadliest, despite efforts to close or bring hundreds of them under state control.

It is run by one of China''s top 520 state-owned enterprises, according to the Web site of its owner, the Hegang branch of the Heilongjiang Longmei Holding Mining Group. It says the Hegang branch has more than 88,000 employees.

China depends heavily on coal to generate about three-quarters of its electricity needs.

The government has been cracking down on unregulated mining operations, which account for almost 80 percent of the country''s 16,000 mines.

The closure of about 1,000 dangerous small mines last year helped to cut in half the average number of miners killed, to about six a day, in the first six months of this year, the government has said.