Eight people died and another eight were injured when a coal mine gantry collapsed in southwest China's Sichuan Province, local authorities said on Monday.

The incident occurred at 9:20 AM in Yimen coal mine in Huili County of Sichuan when the gantry above the earth fell and buried 16 construction workers, said an official with Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture.

All the injured, including three seriously hurt, were being treated in hospital, the official said.

The three were described as stable after undergoing surgery, the official said.

The site had been cleared up, the official said.

An investigation team from the provincial government had arrived at the coal mine.

(Xinhua News Agency July 28, 2009)