31 October 2016•Update: 31 October 2016
By Mahmut Atanur
BEIJING
Almost 35 miners are trapped underground after an explosion at a coal mine in southwest China on Monday morning.
State news agency Xinhua reported local authorities as saying that the blast happened in Chongqing Municipality at 11.30 a.m. (0330GMT) trapping 33 miners.
Chinese mines are among some of the most dangerous in the world due to lax regulations and poor operating procedures.
In recent years, the country has produced more than one-third of the world's annual coal output, but accounted for more than two-thirds of global mining deaths annually, according to the Mining Technology journal.
Last month, a gas explosion at a coal mine in northwest Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region left 18 people dead and two others missing.
In February, a gas leak at a coal mine in northeast Jilin Province left 12 miners dead, while in March 19 people died after a coal mine collapsed in northern Shanxi province while 129 workers were working underground.
