Beijing, China - A gas explosion at a coal mine in northern China has killed at least 82 people, authorities reported Saturday, revising an earlier death toll as they said preliminary findings showed the company involved had committed "serious" violations.

The blast marked the country's biggest mining disaster in 17 years, with search efforts underway to find two people still missing late Saturday evening, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

A total of 247 workers were underground at the time of the blast, which occurred at 7:29 PM (1129 GMT) on Friday at the Liushenyu coal mine in Shanxi, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Of those, 128 people were sent to the hospital for treatment, CCTV said.

Europe Mexico and EU lower tariffs in bid to reduce dependence on US trade

Chinese authorities said late Saturday that preliminary findings showed the coal mine's company had committed "serious illegal violations," state media reported.

"Preliminary judgment indicates that the coal mine enterprise involved committed serious illegal violations," authorities said in a press conference broadcast on CCTV.

A total of 755 emergency and medical personnel were dispatched to the site, with rescue efforts still ongoing Saturday afternoon, CCTV said.

Friday's explosion was the deadliest mining disaster in China since 2009, when 108 people were killed in a mine blast in northeast Heilongjiang province.