Eight people have been killed and 20 others injured after an explosion at the Soko coal mine in eastern Serbia.

The accident happened at around 5 a.m. local time on April 1, when part of the pit mine collapsed after what officials said may have been a methane-gas blast.

Rodoljub Zivadinovic, director of the nearby Aleksinac Health Center, said there are fears that more people could be trapped in the mine.

He said the mine's management told him that a total of 49 miners were on duty when the accident occurred.