Coal Mine Explosion Kills at Least 11 in NW China

Coal mine explosion kills at least 11 in NW China

URUMQI, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) — A coal mine explosion early Tuesday morning has left at least 11 miners dead, 14 injured and three missing in China’s westernmost Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the rescue headquarters confirmed.

Rescuers have found 11 bodies and are searching for the three missing persons in the debris of Beitashan Coal Mine, some 400 kilometers northeast of the capital city of Urumqi.

There might be faint hope for the survival of the three, some rescuers said at the site.

The tragedy occurred at around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday when some 500 km of dynamite stored in a room near the mine went off, according to the rescue headquarters stationed in the Qitai County, over 200 km south of the site.

Local officials have rushed to the mine. An investigation into the causes of the explosion is underway.