Seventeen people were killed and six others injured in a coal mine accident in China’s southwestern Yunnan Province.
A total of 66 miners were working underground when a coal and gas blast occurred yesterday in a shaft of the Shangchang Coal Mine in Huangheni Township of Fuyuan County.
Sixteen miners were killed on the spot and one died on the way to the hospital, state-run
Six of the 49 miners, who survived the accident, were injured and sent to a local hospital. One of them is in a serious condition, sources said, adding that the injuries are not life-threatening.
Miner Yan Hanyong recalled that he and his co-workers were working on a southern platform when he received a phone call asking them to return to the surface due to a high density of gas in the mine.
The owner and the manager of the mine have been taken into police custody for questioning. A preliminary investigation showed that the mine was fully licensed, the report said.