16 missing in flooded north-east China coal mine adds details about sackings from Heilongjiang accident (Roundup)

Nov 28, 2009, 9:54 GMT

Beijing - Sixteen miners were still missing Saturday evening after a coal mine flooded in north-east China, in the third mining accident this week, local media reported.

The flood at the mine in Jilin province occurred Friday afternoon, with one person rescued on Saturday, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Muddy conditions and the collapse of a roof had hampered rescue efforts, according to media reports.

In a separate accident, local media confirmed Saturday that ten people had died after a gas explosion at a coal mine in southern Guizhou province.

The explosion occurred at the Zhenxing Coal Mine in Xingren County on Thursday night when 172 workers were underground, Xinhua reported.

The two accidents come only days after 108 miners were killed in a gas explosion at a mine in China's Heilongjiang province.

Four people were sacked over the accident including the mine head, deputy head, supervisor of production safety, and the chief engineer.

The accidents are a reminder of the high number of injuries and fatalities that plague China's mining industry. Site owners regularly flout safety regulations to increase production.

China's official mining death toll was 3,215 last year, but industry analysts suspect the actual figure to be higher due to under-reporting.