CHENGDU, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a coal mine gas outburst in southwest China's Sichuan Province rose to 17 on Monday with one person still missing, the local authority said on Monday.

    All the bodies of the dead were out of the pit as of 3 p.m. on Monday and their relatives had signed contracts of compensation with the mine, according to the Sichuan Provincial Work Safety Administration.

    The incident occurred at 2:52 a.m. on Friday in Jiuqing Town, Xingwen County. At the time, 44 miners were underground but only 26 emerged safely from the pit after the accident, according to the administration.

    The licensed township mine, belonging to the Jinhe Coal Mining Co., Ltd., has an annual production capacity of 90,000 tons.

    An investigation into the cause of the accident was underway.