China coal mine blast leaves three dead
A coal mine explosion and resulting fire in central China today left three miners confirmed dead and six others missing, the government said.
Two miners escaped and another was rescued after the early-morning incident at the Shuijingtou Coal Mine in Hunan Province, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
The cause of the blast was being investigated.
The blaze hampered rescue efforts and rescuers were still searching for the six missing miners hours after the blast.
China’s coal mines are notorious for their lax safety records and claim about 6,000 miners’ lives each year in fires, explosions, floods and other disasters.
The blast and fire occurred in Shaodong County, about 125 miles from Hunan’s provincial capital, Changsha, Xinhua reported.
It said the Shuijingtou Coal Mine belonged to the state-owned Lianshao Mining Group.
