A gas explosion in a crowded coal mine in China has killed at least 60 people and left 88 missing with little hope of surviving the country's most serious mine accident in years.
In another accident, six miners were killed in a gas leak in a grim reminder that the world's biggest mining industry is also the most dangerous, with thousands of people killed in explosions, floods and other mishaps every year.
The explosion occurred last night at the Daping mine in Xinmi in central Henan province after a rapid build-up of gas, when 446 miners were on duty underground, the official Xinhua news agency said. It said 298 miners escaped.
State television said 60 people had been confirmed dead after the blast in a shaft 200-300 metres underground.
China's mine and work safety record is dismal.
Deaths from coal mine accidents hit 4,153 in the first nine months of this year, down 630 from the same period last year, the State Administration of Work Safety said. But analysts say the real figure could be higher, with many mine-related deaths going unreported.
More than 1 million people are thought to work in underground mines, a Chinese newspaper has reported.
The cause of the blast was under investigation but a monitoring system in the mine showed that before the blast the gas density increased from 1.49 per cent to 40 per cent in two and a half minutes and "expanded to the whole mine soon".
The government has fumbled for ways to reduce the death toll from mining accidents, vowing to close small-scale unsafe, illegal mines and to raise safety standards.
However, it has had trouble keeping illegal and dangerous mines closed because the lure of profits has led many small mine operations and local officials to quietly re-open dangerous pits.