As many as 27 workers are missing after an explosion ripped through a coal mine in New Zealand - and unconfirmed reports suggest one person may have been killed.
Emergency services are at the Pike River Coal Processing Plant near the town of Atarau on the west coast of the south island.
Local Mayor Tony Kokshoorn said: "It's not good news at the moment."
Night has fallen in New Zealand and so far five men have been able to return to the surface with minor injuries, according to reports.
But rescuers have been unable to make contact with more than 25 others who are believed to be trapped inside.
Sky News' Australia correspondent Ian Woods said the mine was in an isolated area but emergency crews were trying to work out exactly where the missing men are.
"If this is a gas explosion, which is the likely scenario, there might well be more pockets of gas in there and rescuers will have to be wary," he said.
Rescuers are concerned about the air quality for any miners trapped underground.
Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee said the blast happened at about 2.45am UK time and the last contact with any of the miners was half-an-hour later.
He said emergency exit tunnels were built into the mine but it was not clear if they could be accessed by the miners.
Families are gathering outside the site of the explosion, according to the New Zealand Herald.
Superintendent Gary Knowles, the Tasman Police District Commander, who is overseeing the police response, said: "We appreciate this is a very uncertain and worrying time for families and friends of the miners and contractors who are at the mine.
"We are working closely with mine officials and other emergency services to do everything we can to help with the rescue operation."
The mine reaches 1.5 miles underground and produces high-grade coal for export that is used primarily in steel production.
Pike River has been operating since 2008, mining a seam that holds the largest known deposit of hard coking coal in New Zealand, with 58.5 million tons, its website says.
The company says the coal preparation plant at the site is the largest and most modern in New Zealand and processes up to 1.5 million tons a year of raw coal.
Accidents have been rare in New Zealand's mines since 19 died in an explosion at the Strongman Mine in 1967.
SKYNEWS
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