At Least 74 Chinese Coal Miners Killed in Wed Methane Blast

BEIJING. Dec 8 (Interfax) – At least 74 coal miners were confirmed dead following a methane blast in a mine in the city of Tangshan in the Chinese province of Hebei.

The blast occurred Wednesday afternoon, when 186 coalminers were working underground, the Chinese State Labor Safety Control Department reported.

The fate of another 32 miners is still unknown.

It was first reported, citing the mine’s administration, that 123 were underground at the moment of the accident. But it emerged later that in fact 186 miners were underground.

The explosion at the Tangshan coal mine has become the third major accident involving human deaths at Chinese coal mines in the past two weeks.