20 miners die as cable snaps

Published on 26/09/2012 01:55

TWENTY miners died when a steel cable pulling two underground carriages snapped, Chinese media reported yesterday.

Thirty-four miners were in the carriages when they overturned in the mine in Baiyin city, Gansu province. Fourteen survived the incident.

China has the deadliest coal mining industry in the world, with 1,973 miners dying in accidents last year alone. Safety improvements have reduced deaths in recent years, but safety rules are often ignored.

In August, a mine blast in ­Sichuan left 44 people dead, China’s highest single accident toll in nearly three years.