Rescue crews scrambled to rescue 34 coal miners trapped Thursday by a methane gas leak in the southwestern Chinese province of Guizhou.

The leak was detected at the Qunli Coal Mine Thursday afternoon while 86 miners were working, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Of them, 52 managed to escape from the shaft as rescue crews deployed, local officials said.

Provincial authorities order all mines in the region closed and inspected for safety infractions, as 20 miners have died in accidents in the region since August in five separate gas leaks or explosions, Xinhua said.

Accidents in Chinese mines kill an estimated 10,000 people each year, state officials said.  // Copyright 2007 by United Press International



Publication date: 08 November 2007   

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