The explosion occurred on Wednesday in the city of Hegang.
The motive behind the incident is still unknown.
A total of 52 workers were working in the Xiangyang coal mine when the blast took place, while only 33 managed to escape.
Authorities have admitted that the chance of survival for those trapped was very slim mainly due to the extremely high concentrations of carbon monoxide and rising temperatures in the mine.
The latest incident in China’s industry occurred after a coal mine fire in the same province killed 22 people on November 22.