China coal mine accident traps at least 43

BEIJING: An accident at a coal mine in China trapped at least 43 workers underground on Thursday, state media and officials said, the latest in a string of incidents to hit the country's vast mining industry.

Rescuers had rushed to the scene of the accident, which occurred early Thursday morning in the southwestern province of Yunnan, the official Xinhua news agency said.

The cause of the accident was not immediately clear. Xinhua said there had been a gas leak, indicating a possible explosion, while a local mine safety official told the mine may have been hit by a "coal and gas outburst."

An outburst is a sudden and violent ejection of coal, gas and rock from a coal face in an underground mine, which can seriously hurt people and damage machinery.

The accident comes days after a rock blast in a coal mine in the central province of Henan trapped dozens of workers underground, most of whom were eventually pulled out after a 40-hour rescue operation, though 10 were killed. (AFP)