New China mine blast kills nine

An explosion at a coal mine in south-west China killed nine workers and left one missing, less than a week after a mine blast killed at least 107.

A total of 172 miners were working in Guizhou’s Zhenxing mine when the explosion happened, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. All but 10 escaped, three of them with injuries from flying debris.

Investigators looking into Saturday morning’s blast outside the north-eastern city of Hegang – the country’s deadliest in two years – have blamed crowded conditions, insufficient ventilation and slow rescue efforts for the high death toll.