MOSCOW, August 25 (RIA Novosti) - A methane explosion in a coal mine in north China's Shanxi province has left at least 11 miners dead and three missing, Xinhua news agency reported.
The explosion occurred on Monday morning in the Xingguang Coal Industry mine in the city of Jinzhong while 16 miners were underground, Xinhua quoted the Coal Industry Administration of Shanxi as saying.
The explosion widened the small entrance into the mine to four meters (just over 13 feet). On Monday night, rescuers placed a pipe into the 300-meter (984-foot) shaft for ventilation.
Investigations into the cause of the blast are ongoing.
In a separate accident in China's Hunan province on Tuesday, at least eight miners were trapped due to flooding in a graphite mine in Heye.
