Chinese mine accident kills 27 workers, traps 20

A cave-in at a gypsum mine in northern China killed 27 workers and trapped 20 others, the official Xinhua News Agency reported today.

The mine collapse occurred yesterday evening in Xingtai, a city in Hebei province, and affected two other nearby mines, the agency said.

Some 21 miners were taken to hospital, it said. The cause was under investigation.

The mine produces stone used to make plaster, Xinhua said.

Elsewhere, the confirmed death toll from another accident yesterday at a coal mine in the northern province of Shanxi rose to 15, Xinhua said. One miner was still missing.

Twenty-five miners were working underground when an explosion ripped through the Taiping Colliery in Shanxi, Xinhua said. Nine miners managed to escape.

China’s mines are the world’s deadliest, with thousands killed each year in fires, explosions and other disasters.

The government has repeatedly vowed to do more to stem the carnage, but fatal accidents are reported almost daily.