World Brief
An explosion at a coal mine in Hunan Province in central China that reportedly killed at least 29 people, is the latest deadly incident in China’s notoriously unsafe mining industry.
The blast occurred in the mine on Saturday evening at state-run and owned Xialiuchong Coal Mine in Hengyang City, which has 500 employees. The mine was not registered to operate at the time because it did not meet the provincial government’s safety standards, AFP reported.
Thirty-five workers were underground at the time of the explosion, six survivors are undergoing medical treatment, state-run Xinhua reported.
More than 40 rescuers were deployed to get the workers out of the blast-stricken underground tunnels.
Gas build up was the likely cause of the explosion state-run media said.
The blast is the latest in a string of deadly incidents in coal mines throughout the country. China’s coal industry is widely considered the most dangerous in the world.
In 2010, more than 2,400 people were killed in coal mine accidents in China, according to AFP, citing official data. Rights groups say that the death toll is much higher as mine owners do not report incidents to avoid punishment.
