25 die in China mine blaze
At least 25 workers have been killed in a fire at a coal mine in central China, state media reported today.
Efforts were continuing to rescue at least three others trapped underground.
The Xinhua News Agency said underground cables caught fire at the Lisheng coal mine in Xiangtan city in Hunan province yesterday afternoon.
The owner of the mine and a senior employee were detained, Xinhua said.
Sixteen more bodies were recovered today, about 1,770ft (540m) below the surface, bringing the death toll to 25, it said.
More than 70 workers were underground when the fire started and 43 managed to escape, it said.
Rescue workers were searching for the remaining miners, who were thought to be on another mining platform at least 2,000ft (600m) underground, Xinhua said.
The fire was extinguished and the ventilation system was restored yesterday, so there was a chance that they were still alive, it added.
China’s mining industry is the world’s deadliest, with most accidents blamed on poor safety as enterprises scramble to feed the country’s voracious demand for coal.
Last November, 108 miners were killed in a coal mine blast in north-east China. It was the country’s worst mining accident in two years.
