Explosions killed at least 23 workers in a Colombian coal mine in the northeastern province of Norte de Santander on Saturday, and another eight were feared dead, officials said yesterday.

"There were 31 men in the mine at the time of the explosions," Fernando Rosales, head of the province's civil defense corps, said.

Rescue and recovery attempts, complicated by deadly gases remaining in the mine shafts, resumed at daybreak yesterday after being suspended the night before. The bodies of 23 miners were recovered from the La Peciosa mine near the town of Sardinata while eight others remained underground.

"It is impossible that those still in the mine are alive due to the high amount of poisonous gas in the mine shafts. It would be a miracle if they are alive," Carlos Garcia, head firefighter leading the rescue attempt, said.

Rescue workers face the danger of more explosions at the small, privately-owned mine due to combustible gasses, local officials said.