27 dead, seven trapped in China coal mine blast
SHANGHAI, June 14 (Reuters) - Twenty-seven miners were killed and another seven remained trapped after an explosion in a Chinese coal mine, state media said on Saturday.
The explosion in a facility of Anxin Coal Mining Co in China's northern Shanxi province occurred on Friday morning, when 58 miners were working underground, the official Xinhua agency said. Fifteen miners had managed to escape, and another nine were rescued, it added.
China, the world's largest producer and consumer of coal, has the world's deadliest mining industry.
It has been battling to improve standards in its mines, but accidents are common as owners push production beyond safety limits to meet robust demand to fuel the country's economic boom. (Reporting by Sophie Taylor; Editing by Jerry Norton)
