21 Dead In China Coal Mine Explosion
MEP: An explosion at a coal mine in northeast China that occurred on Tuesday and left over dozens trapped underground, has killed 21, state media confirmed on Saturday.
The explosion took place in Qitaihe City, Heilongjiang province, at around 9:00 pm.
They workers have been declared dead, state run Xinhua news agency quoted local officials as saying. The owner and manager of the mine have been taken into custody.
Rescue operations were underway to reach the sole survivor of the deadly incident.
According to an earlier report, rescue teams had failed to reach the victims because debris from the blast had blocked the tunnels leading to the site.
China is the world’s largest coal producer and deadly accidents are common.
