At least 10 dead, 10 trapped in southern China coal mine accidents

Sunday, September 5th 2004, 9:25 am

By: News On 6

BEIJING (AP) _ A pair of coal mine accidents in a south China province killed at least 10 miners this weekend, leading local authorities to shut down other mines in the area for safety checks.

A gas explosion Saturday at the Andesheng Coal Mine in Jinsha, a county in Guizhou province, killed 10 workers and an unknown number were missing, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Rescue efforts were under way, and the cause was being investigated.

On Sunday morning, flooding at the Liuhe Coal Mine in Hezhang, also in Guizhou, trapped 10 miners underground, the agency reported. Rescuers were trying to reach them, and it wasn't known whether they were dead or alive, it said.

Following the accident in Jinsha, authorities closed all the mines in the county for inspections, Xinhua said.

The area is about 1,000 miles southwest of Beijing.

China's mines are the world's deadliest. Each year, thousands of miners are killed in explosions, fires and floods. The central government has vowed to improve mine safety.