China suffered two mining accidents on Saturday that left three workers dead and 40 trapped underground, state media said, the latest incidents to hit the nation's dangerous collieries.

One mine collapsed in Heshan city in the southern region of Guangxi, and rescuers sent to help the trapped workers found three bodies at the site of the accident, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Another 19 miners were still trapped in a difficult-to-reach section of a mine shaft more than 300 metres (990 feet) below ground, the report said.