Explosion in China coal mine, 166 trapped

Rescue workers had advanced several hundred metres into the mine, but were blocked by heavy smoke, state media said. Doctors from nine hospitals were taking part in the rescue.

8216;8216;Workers at the mouth of the Chenjiashan coal mine discovered thick smoke pouring out of ventilation shafts, and that communication with the inside of the mine had been cut off,8217;8217; said the website of the People8217;s Daily, mouthpiece of the Communist Party http://www.people.com.cn.

Some of the escaped miners suffered carbon monoxide poisoning. An official at the mine, near Tongchuan, southwest of Beijing, said he had no information about the cause of the blast or casualties. Several other government officials declined to comment.

The blast occurred two days after Shaanxi government ordered tougher mine inspections and the closure of any mines with insufficient or substandard ventilation.

China8217;s coal mine industry, which provides the primary fuel for the world8217;s seventh-biggest economy, has a dismal safety record that has been grimly underscored by a series of major accidents this year. A coal mine blast in the central province of Henan this month killed 33 miners. That followed an October explosion, also in Henan, that killed 148 miners.

Commentators on Xinhua8217;s website bemoaned the state of an industry that killed 4,153 workers in the first nine months this year. 8212;Reuters