At least 12 workers have been killed and two others injured following a gas explosion at a coal mine in China’s southwestern province of Guizhou.
Provincial officials said the powerful blast occurred on Friday night in the Dashan coal mine in Pingba county, Xinhua news agency reported.
Sources say the coal mine was operating illegally and an investigation has been launched into the incident.
In April, a coal mine gas explosion in the northeastern Jilin Province killed 18 miners and injured several others.
China’s mining industry is the most dangerous in the world and more than 1,300 people were killed in mine accidents in 2012. According to official figures, 2,433 people died in coal mining accidents in the Asian nation in 2010.
Independent labor groups say the figure could be much higher, as accidents are covered up to prevent mine closures.
The Chinese government has shut down hundreds of mines as part of efforts to improve safety standards.
Mining safety rules have often been ignored in favor of profit, as the economy has boomed.
JR/SS
This article originally appeared on : Press TV