Beijing - A gas explosion at a coal mine in north-eastern China killed at least 23 workers, and trapped 90 early Saturday, media reports said. Some 528 miners were working when the explosion occurred at 2:30 am in a mine in Hegang City, Heilongjiang province, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported, citing the provincial coal mine safety watchdog.
According to state broadcaster CCTV, an evacuation was already underway before the explosion, because the mine's dispatch centre had received a warning about gas levels in the shaft.
Local residents in Hegang, 10 kilometres from the mine site, said they had felt the blast, semi-official China News Service reported.
Xinhua reported that 415 miners were able to reach safety.
China's mining industry is notoriously dangerous, with many mines operating illegally and flouting safety regulations in order to increase production.
The official mining death toll was 3,215 last year, but industry analysts suspect the actual figure to be higher.
