| GEO World | | 10 dead, one missing in China mine gas blast: sources | Updated at: 0751 PST, Wednesday, May 19, 2010
BEIJING: A gas explosion has rocked a coal mine in northern China, killing 10 miners and leaving one missing, state media reported Wednesday, citing work safety officials.
The blast took place on Tuesday at the mine in Shanxi province, the country's coal-producing heartland, the news agency reported.
A total of 41 miners were in the pit at the time of the explosion. Thirty were brought to safety, the report said.
Rescue work was ongoing, and an investigation has been launched into the cause of the accident, it said.
The mine, owned by the Chentong Coal Industry Co., Ltd., had an annual capacity of 600,000 tonnes.
China's vast coal mining industry is notoriously accident-prone, with the government saying about 2,600 people died in accidents last year.
Safety concerns are widely ignored as China tries to satisfy surging demand for the fuel -- the source of about 70 percent of the country's energy. |  |
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