93 miners trapped after coal blast

Ninety-three coal miners were today trapped in a mine that reopened illegally after being closed for safety reasons.

There were no immediate reports of deaths after the explosion at the mine in Xuzhou, a city in the eastern province of Jiangsu, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said.

The mine was closed on June 15 but restarted operation this month, Xinhua said. It said the cause of the blast was being investigated.

China’s coal mines are the world’s deadliest, suffering thousands of fatalities a year. Already this month, 21 miners were reported to have been killed when a mine flooded in the northeastern province of Jilin.