Eight miners were killed on Friday in a coal and gas outburst at a mine in southwest China's Guizhou Province, local work safety officials said.

The outburst happened at 1:36 AM at the Zhihe mine in Zhijin County when 33 miners were working underground. Twenty-five miners managed to escape, said officials of the Guizhou provincial work safety bureau.

Local authorities are investigating the cause of the accident.