China: 31 killed in mine explosion

A gas explosion tore through a coal mine in northern China today, killing 31 people and trapping 82 others nearly a third of a mile under ground, government authorities said.

A total of 528 people were working in the Xinxing mine in Heilongjiang province at the time of the explosion, the State Administration of Work Safety said in a statement. It said 389 escaped after the blast.