TOKYO, Nov 26 (KUNA) -- A coal mine fire killed at least 24 workers and injured 52 others in northeast China's Liaoning Province early Wednesday, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.
The fire occurred at at 2:35 a.m. (1835 Tuesday GMT) in a coal mine, a subsidiary of the state-owned Liaoning Fuxin Coal Corporation. Fuxin Coal said the rescue is over and all the injured workers have been hospitalized.
Before the fire broke out, a 1.6-magnitude quake was monitored at 1:31 a.m. at a city near the coal mine. Local government is investigating connections between tremor and the fire. Built in 1978, the Fuxin mine is one of the largest coal producers in northeast China with an annual production of 1.5 million tons. The Fuxin Coal has some 4,660 employees. Last year, eight workers were also killed during a gas leak in a Fuxin Coal mine. China has the world's largest and deadliest mining industry. Last year, 1,049 miners died in 589 coal mine accidents in the nation, which means the accidents killed almost three people per day, according to the work safety administration. In the US and other developed countries, the annual death toll in coal mines is generally no higher than 40. (end) mk.tg