(CNN) -- Twenty-seven miners were missing hours after an underground explosion on New Zealand's west coast, company officials said Friday.
Two other miners had emerged from the the Pike River coal mine in Atarau, authorities said.
About three hours after the blast, police said no fatalities had been reported. Emergency workers were about to go into the mine, TV New Zealand said.
Emergency crews had interviewed the two miners who surfaced, trying to determine what happened. The cause of the explosion was not immediately known, police said.
According to early accounts, an electrician went into the mine to investigate a power outage and discovered a driver who had been blown off his loader about 1,500 meters [0.9 mile] into the mine shaft.
A special mine rescue team was among the many emergency workers on the scene.
A large group of family and friends of the miners had started gathering at the mine, TV New Zealand reported.
The two miners who had surfaced arrived at the Grey Base Hospital, an hour away, with non-life-threatening injuries, TV New Zealand said.
Communications underground were "terminated" when the explosion happened, Pike River CEO Peter Whittall said.
The entrance to the mine is about 2.2 kilometers along and then branches out, police said. The power outage might have compromised ventilation inside the mine.
Smoke hung outside the mine, trees were charred and a hut had been blown off a hill, TV New Zealand said.
The remote mine is about 50 kilometers [31 miles] northeast of Greymouth, police said.
CNN
