China mine blast kills 29
A gas explosion at a coal mine in central China killed 29 workers.
Six other miners survived the blast at a state-owned coal mine in Hengyang city in Hunan province, China’s State Administration of Work Safety said. Five of the workers were rescued, while one climbed out of an air shaft.
China’s coal mines are the most dangerous in the world. Demand for coal induces many producers to sidestep safety regulations, although conditions have improved and a number of small, illegal mines have been shut. Annual fatalities are now about one-third of the high of nearly 7,000 in 2002.
