China coal mine blast kills 10: official

BEIJING: Ten people were killed by an explosion in a coal mine in southwest China, a local official said Monday, in the latest in a series of fatal accidents to plague the industry.

The blast occurred on Sunday evening in Guizhou province, a local official who refused to be named told AFP. "There was a blast on Sunday evening. Ten people died and one was injured," he said.

Last year, 2,433 people died in coal mine accidents in China, according to official statistics -- a rate of more than six workers per day.