Up to 27 feared dead after explosion in New Zealand coal mine

Around 30 workers were unaccounted for after an explosion ripped through a coal mine in New Zealand today, police and media reports said.

Around 27 workers were unaccounted for after an explosion ripped through a coal mine in New Zealand today, police and media reports said.

Emergency services were racing to the Pike River Coal Processing Plant near the town of Atarau on the west coast after police received reports of an explosion, a statement said.