North China coal mine blast kills at least 68

Coal dust caught fire in a mine in northeast China, sparking an explosion that killed at least 68 people and left 79 missing, the government said today, as the country’s leadership called for tighter work safety measures.

Some 221 miners were underground when the blast occurred late yesterday at the Dongfeng Coal mine in Qitaihe, a city in Heilongjiang province, the official Xinhua News Agency said.