LANZHOU, September 20 (RIA Novosti) - Carbon monoxide poisoning has left at least four people dead in a coalmine in the Gansu province in northwest China, the official news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday.

Production at the mine in an uninhabited region of the Subei county in Jiuquan city was suspended ahead of the National Day celebrations slated for October. 1. However, the head of the mine led four subordinates into the shaft for safety checks after a fire caused by a 4.8-magnitude earthquake in the area on Friday, Xinhua said.

One person was saved while the other four, including the head of the mine, were killed by the gas, Xinhua said, referring to the Gansu Production Safety Supervision Administration.

The coalmine had all necessary production licenses and reported a production capacity of 150,000 metric tons a year, Xinhua said.

The coal industry in China is one of the most dangerous in the world with some 7,000 lives lost annually in accidents.