An explosion in a Chinese coal mine in late January left at least 33 miners missing only a day after a blast in another mine killed eight workers, China’s news agency Xinhua said.
Two people are said to have survived the explosion, which occurred at the Boaxing mine, near Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, 1,000 km northeast of Beijing.
At presstime, rescue workers were searching for the missing miners. The cause of the blast is being investigated.
The earlier explosion occurred at a mine in the neighbouring province of Jilin, in mine the city of Baishan, 800 km northeast of Beijing.
An employee told the Associated Press the blast was caused by natural gas, though the cause is still being investigated.
China’s mining industry has the world’s worst record for work safety. In the Beijing area, at least 4,500 people died in coal mines in 2002, though unofficial estimates put the figure as high as 10,000. Many such incidents occurred in privately owned mines that lack operating licences and adequate safety equipment.
China relies heavily on the coal industry for its energy needs.
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