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BEIJING: Twenty-seven people were killed and six injured on Thursday in a coal mine explosion in northeast China, state media said, the latest disaster to hit the nation's notoriously dangerous mining industry.
The gas blast occurred at a mine in the city of Fuxin in Liaoning province, one of China's main coal-producing areas, an official surnamed Li at the Fuxin local work safety bureau told AFP.
The official Xinhua news agency said 27 people had been confirmed killed as rescuers found the bodies of the last three missing miners, and six others were injured.
The explosion took place on Thursday morning when 41 miners were working in the mine, Xinhua said.
The agency said 14 people had escaped after the blast, and the six injured were among that group.
An investigation into the accident was underway, the report said.
China's coal mines are among the most dangerous in the world, with safety standards often ignored in the quest for profits and the drive to meet surging demand for coal - the source of about 70 percent of the country's energy.
Nearly 3,800 people died in Chinese coal mines last year, according to official figures, although independent monitors say the real figure is likely to be higher as many accidents are covered up.
The country's top workplace safety official said in January that corruption and ineptitude were major factors in the horrific number of deaths in Chinese coal mines.
"Graft and trading power for money still exist among a small number of government employees," Li Yizhong, minister of the State Administration of Work Safety, told reporters when asked to explain the accidents.
The problem was compounded by chaotic management of mines and low safety awareness among workers, he said.
"A deeper reason... is the lack of training and education of the 5.5 million coal miners, of which 56 percent are migrant workers," Li said.
In July, Wang Shenzhen, head of Shanxi province's coal bureau, warned that workers in the region were facing increased safety hazards as mines exceeded normal capacity in a bid to meet nationwide shortages. - AFP/so/de
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