MOSCOW, May 11 (RIA Novosti) – At least 22 people were killed and nine others trapped in a gas blast in a coal mine in southwest China’s Sichuan province, Xinhua reported on Saturday.
The explosion occurred in the Taozigou coal mine in the city of Luzhou when 108 miners were working underground, the agency said citing a local work safety supervision bureau.
Rescue work at the scene of the accident is underway.
The coal industry in energy-hungry China is one of the most dangerous in the world due to poor work safety standards and intensive work schedules.
Hundreds of lives are lost annually in accidents at coal mines in the country.
