Twenty-two Chinese miners trapped underground after blast

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/13/chinese-miners-trapped-underground-blast

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A gas explosion in a coal mine in western China has left 22 workers trapped underground.

The blast at Changji mine occurred in the early hours of Friday morning when 34 miners were working, the Xinjiang news agency reported on its microblog. Twelve miners scrambled to safety but 22 remain trapped.

Teams of rescuers were searching for the trapped miners. It is unclear whether there were fatalities among them.

Such accidents are usually caused by a failure to ventilate methane gas from the shaft. China's mines, which are among the deadliest in the world, suffer frequent explosions, floods and cave-ins.

Safety improvements have reduced the number deaths in recent years but regulations are often ignored.

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