A coalmine fire in eastern China's Jiangxi Province has left 12 people dead, news agency Xinhua said on Saturday citing local authorities.
The fire at the Miaoshang coalmine broke out at about 4 p.m. local time (08:00 GMT) on Friday, but the bodies were retrieved on Saturday morning only, Xinhua quoted the Yushui District government as saying in a statement.
According to preliminary investigation results, the accident was caused by short circuit of underground cables.
The mine has an annual capacity of 60,000 metric tons of coal.
Some 40 people have been killed in accidents in Chinese mines since the start of 2010.
BEIJING, January 9 (RIA Novosti)