KABUL: (Middle East Press) A state-owned coal mine caught fire in northeast China, leaving 21 workers dead and one missing, the official Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the local government.
The fire broke out late Friday evening at a mine located in the city Jixi in Heilongjiang Province.
The mine is operated by the state-owned Heilongjiang Longmay Mining Holding Group.
Rescue workers have recovered the bodies of the 21 victims and were searching for the missing person, the local government announced.
The incident is under control and 16 workers managed to escape, Xinhua said, without further elaborating. A total of 38 miners were working in the mine, operated by the provincial government’s Heilongjiang Longmay Mining Holding Group Co., when the fire broke out, according to the report.
China, which is considered as the world’s largest producer of coal, is struggling to enhance the enforcement of safety regulations in the country’s mining sector. Last year, accidents in coal mines reportedly killed 931 people across the East Asian state.
