China coal mine gas "outburst" kills 31

BEIJING (Reuters) - An "outburst" of gas at a coal mine in central China's Henan Province early on Sunday killed at least 31 people and a further nine were still missing, the Xinhua news agency said, citing local officials.

Rescue efforts were underway at the privately owned mine southwest of Dengfeng City which had 108 miners underground at the time of the accident, 68 of whom were able to escape, Xinhua said.

The accident occurred one day after Xinhua reported that five coal miners died and more than 25 were missing after an accident in the northeast of the country.

Earlier this month, three Chinese coal mine accidents within four days killed at least 42 people.

(Reporting by Kirby Chien; Editing by John Chalmers)