Twenty-seven miners are trapped after a coal mine fire in central China's Hunan Province Tuesday, a local government official said.

The fire happened at Lisheng Coal Mine in Tanjiashan Town, Xiangtan County of Xiangtan City, at 2:00 PM, the official with the county government said.

Rescuers had begun searching for the miners, who could still be alive.

An investigation into the cause of the accident was launched by the municipal government and Hunan provincial work safety department.

(Xinhua News Agency January 6, 2010)