9 workers die in Chinese mine collapse

BEIJING (AA) - Nine people have died in a coal mine in North China's Shan Xia province, the state Xinhua news agency said Wednesday.

Xinhua reported a local safety watchdog as saying that of 10 workers trapped after the collapse, one was saved and given medical treatment, but the rest died.

At least 40 people have died from mine collapses in China's Heilongjiang, Hunan, and Hubei provinces in January.

Chinese mines are among some of the most dangerous in the world due to lax regulations and poor operating procedures.

In recent years, the country has produced more than one-third of the world's annual coal output, but accounted for more than two-thirds of global mining deaths annually, according to the Mining Technology journal.