Death toll from latest China mine blast rises to 7

By Fuat Kabakci

BEIJING (AA) - The death toll from the latest gas explosion to hit a coal mine in China has risen to seven, bringing the total number of workers to die in such accidents over the past week to 60.

State news agency Xinhua reported Wednesday that four other miners remain trapped at the mine in Badong County of central Hubei province since the blast occurred Monday while 46 workers were underground.

Last week, at least 21 miners were killed following a blast at a coal mine in northeast Heilongjiang province, and 32 others in a similar incident in northern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

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.

A blast at a coal mine in southwest Chongqing Municipality in late October left 33 people dead.

In March, 19 people died after a coal mine collapsed in northern China while 129 workers were working underground.