The cave-in on Christmas Day in the eastern province of Shandong killed one worker and left an additional nine missing.

The official Xinhua News Agency said on Wednesday that rescuers had yet to reach the survivors but had contacted them and were sending provisions to them underground.

Two days after the collapse, the owner of the mine, Ma Congbo, drowned after he jumped into a well in an apparent suicide during rescue efforts.

Four top officials in Pingyi county, where the mine is located, have since been sacked.

The collapse was so violent that the national earthquake bureau detected a quiver there.