China: Coal mine blast kills 26

TWENTY-SIX miners were killed and 21 others are missing after a blast at a Chinese coal mine on Wednesday.

Rescuers brought 107 miners to safety after the explosion at the Xiaojiawan coal mine in Sichuan province. Fifty-one received hospital treatment and seven remained in critical condition yesterday.

China’s mines are the deadliest in the world because of lax enforcement of safety standards and a rush to feed demand from a robust economy. But the death toll from accidents has been falling, government statistics show.

Beijing’s work safety watchdog said 1,973 miners were killed in coal mine accidents last year. In 2010, 2,433 were killed, down from 2,631 the year before.

Rescue efforts in Sichuan were hampered by temperatures as high as 90C in the gas-filled pit. Carbon monoxide was dense in the area where the miners were trapped and only mask-wearing rescuers had been able to enter.