(channelnewsasia, Sep 04, 2006) Twenty-three people were killed in three separate mining accidents in central and southern China in recent days, state press reported on Monday.

Six miners were killed when their mine in Daye city, in the central province of Hubei, flooded early Sunday morning, Xinhua news agency said.

Ten miners were in the mine at the time of the flood, but three escaped on their own while one other miner was pulled out alive by rescuers, the report said.

In a separate accident, eight miners died and four were injured in a gas explosion in an illegally run coal mine in southwest China's Guizhou province on Saturday, Xinhua reported Sunday.

In the third accident, nine miners were killed in an explosion early Thursday in the Lianyi Coal Mine in neighboring Hunan province, Xinhua said in a separate report.

Five workers in the mine at the time of the explosion have been hospitalized with injuries, it added.

Floods, explosions and collapses make China's mines the world's most deadly with official figures showing around 6,000 workers dying in the industry last year.

Labour rights groups, such as the Hong Kong-based China Labour Bulletin, say the real number could be as high as 20,000 each year.
Source:channelnewsasia
tag:China energy coal