At least 59 Chinese miners were killed and 24 were missing underground this evening after a gas blast, state media said, one of the worst disasters this year in China's coal industry.
At least 87 miners were working underground when the explosion, caused by a buildup of gas in a mine shaft, shook the Shenlong Coal Mine in the far-western region of Xinjiang, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Four people escaped after the blast hit late last night Irish time, it said. State media had earlier said 22 miners died and 60 were trapped. Xinhua quoted an official with the Xinjiang Coal Mine Safety Supervision Administration as saying four miners had been rescued.
Last year, more than 6,000 miners in China were killed in explosions and accidents nationwide. In the first six months of this year, China reported four accidents that each claimed the lives of more than 30 people.
China has pledged to clean up the industry, but with the economy reliant on coal for about 70 percent of its energy needs, it has proved an uphill battle. China produces about double the amount of coal official media say it can safely mine.