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Journalism of Courage
An explosion at a Chinese coal mine has left 43 miners trapped below ground on Friday, state media reported.
Explosives went off accidentally deep in the pit of the mine located on the outskirts of Xiaoyi city in the northern province of Shanxi, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
It said 15 workers made it to the surface alive following the blast, which ripped through the mine’s main shaft shortly after 1:00 pm (1030 IST).
A state television report that aired four hours later said the condition of those trapped below was still unknown.
China’s mining industry is notoriously unsafe, although Xinhua said the mine, operated by the Anxin Coal Mining Corp., had passed a recent safety inspection.
