BEIJING, Aug 29 (Reuters) - A mine gas blast in south China has left nine people missing as 181 coal miners in an eastern province remained trapped underground more than 10 days after their pits were flooded, state media said on Wednesday.

The explosion happened on Tuesday when the workers were exploring reserves in a mine in Huaihua in Hunan province, Xinhua news agency said without specifying what kind of mine it was.

Hopes have faded for the 181 miners trapped in a state-owned colliery in Shandong province since Aug. 17 though rescuers were still struggling to pump the water out.

China has been hit by a string of fatal work safety accidents in the past month.

On Aug. 13, a bridge collapsed days before its completion in Hunan, killing 64 workers. Sixteen people died in a molten aluminium spill in a Shandong foundry six days later. China's coal industry is the deadliest in the world, with 2,163 miners killed in 1,320 accidents in the first seven months of 2007.

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