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Zhu Rong
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China mine flood traps 28 in southwest: Xinhua
BEIJING | Sun Nov 21, 2010 5:01am EST
BEIJING (Reuters) - An underground flood on Sunday trapped 28 miners in southwestern China, the Xinhua news agency said, in the latest accident involving the country's mines, considered the deadliest in the world.
Thirteen of 41 miners were able to escape when an underground pit at Bastian Coal Mine in Weidman county filled up with water, a provincial work safety bureau told Xinhua.
A spokesman for the bureau said rescue efforts were underway, but the location and condition of the workers were not known. China's mines are considered the deadliest in the world, due to lax safety standards and a rush to feed demand from a robust economy.
More than 2,600 people died in coal mine accidents in China in 2009 alone. The last mine accident in China, also a flood, killed 12 in Guizhou province on October 27, according to the State Administration of Work Safety website.
(Reporting by Michael Martian and Sally Hung, editing by Mira Fahey)
