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Colliery gas blast leaves 13 dead, 66 missing

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-09-08 10:09

ZHENGZHOU: A coal mine gas explosion in the wee hours of Tuesday has left 13 people dead and 66 others missing in central China's Henan Province, the state work safety watchdog reported.

The news was confirmed by officials in Pingdingshan City of Henan early in the morning.

The accident happened at around 1 a.m. at Xinhua No. 4 pit in Xinhua District of Pingdingshan, said a spokesman with the Pingdingshan city committee of the Communist Party of China.

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He said 93 people were working in the pit and 14 of them fled immediately after the accident. "The whereabouts of the other 79 are unknown."

The spokesman said Xinhua No. 4 pit was undergoing an overhaul and had not been allowed to resume production by the city government.