After three days of searching, rescuers at a collapsed coal mine in northeast China still couldn’t agree on the number of miners missing – further underlining the government’s lack of success in improving safety in the disaster-plagued industry.

Rescuers in north-east China worked in sub-freezing temperatures today to search for three coal miners who were trapped after an explosion killed 146 others in a disaster that has highlighted the industry’s shortcomings despite repeated safety crackdowns.