Many dead and missing in China coal mine blast
At least 22 workers were killed and some 60 missing after a gas explosion ripped through a mine in China’s far west, the government said.
The blast occurred at 7.30pm UK time yesterday in the Shenlong Coal Mine in the Xinjiang region, when around 87 miners were underground, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
Five people were rescued and three bodies have been recovered, Xinhua said. No other details were given.
China’s coal mines are the world’s deadliest, with explosions, floods and fires killing thousands of workers each year. Inadequate safety equipment and lax safety rules are often blamed for the accidents.
There was no telephone listing for the Shenlong mine. A man who answered the phone at the work safety bureau in Fukang county, where the mine is located, confirmed the explosion and said the cause was under investigation. He refused to give his name or any other details.
