At least 18 die in China coal mine accident

Beijing: At least 17 people were today killed in a gas explosion ripped through a coal mine in southwest China`s Yunnan Province. The coal and gas outburst occurred in a shaft of the Shangchang coal mine in Huangnihe township of Fuyuan County resulting in the death of the miners, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

According to preliminary investigation, sixty-six miners were underground when the mishap took place and 49 of them escaped unscathed from the mine. PTI