GUIYANG, Jan. 30  -- The death toll from a coal mine gas explosion in southwest China's Guizhou Province has risen to 16 with the body of the final missing miner found on Monday, local authorities said.

The blast happened at about 12:20 a.m. on Sunday in the Yile Coal Mine located at Shuitang Town, Panxian County. Twenty-five miners were working underground when the explosion occurred, and only nine managed to escape, said sources from the Guizhou Provincial Bureau of Work Safety.

Rescuers found the body while clearing debris from the shaft late on Monday. The bodies of all the miners killed in the blast have been recovered, said a spokesman for the Guizhou Provincial Bureau of Work Safety.

The owner of the coal mine, which was fully licensed and has an annual output capacity of 60,000 tons, has been ordered to report regularly to local police since the accident.

An investigation into the cause of the explosion is under way.