Gas explosion at unlicensed Chinese coal mine kills 29

A GAS explosion at a coal mine operating without a proper licence has killed 29 miners in central China, state media said yesterday, in the latest in a series of deadly accidents to hit the industry.

Some 35 miners were working in the state-owned Xialiuchong Coal Mine in Hengyang city, Hunan province, at the time of the blast, which happened early on Saturday evening, the official Xinhua news agency said. The bodies of all the dead have been recovered.

Six miners were rescued and were being treated in hospital, to the relief of relatives, who had gathered outside the mine awaiting news.