Nine workers were killed and seven others trapped after a coal mine was hit by a gas outburst in central China’s Henan Province, local authorities said on Tuesday.
A total of 127 miners were working underground when the mine was hit by a gas outburst at the Sanyuandong Coal Mine in Baiping Township of Dengfeng City, late Monday night a spokesperson with Zhengzhou Coal Industry Co Ltd, which runs the mine said.
One hundred eleven workers were brought to the ground safely but the fate of seven trapped miners was yet not known.
The coal mine has a designed annual output of 300,000 tonnes, official Xinhua news agency reported. Three days ago, 17 workers were killed and 24 others were trapped in twin mine accidents.
While 17 workers were killed and 20 others injured in a powerful explosion at the dormitory area of a coal mine in north China's Shanxi province, 24 miners were trapped in another mishap at coal mine in Hengshan District, Jixi City of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.
Efforts were still under way to rescue the trapped miners. Over 2,500 mine workers were killed in mine accidents in China last years. The country has already witnessed dozens of mine accidents since early 2010.