Sixteen Killed In Mainland Coal Mine Accident

Sixteen workers died and one was in a critical condition after being trapped underground in a coal mine near Chongqing on Sunday, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

A conveyor belt caught fire in the early hours of the morning, Xinhua News Agency cited the government as saying, which produced dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.

Medics were fighting to save the life of the remaining survivor, CCTV said.

The cause of the accident was still under investigation, said the Qijiang district government on social media platform Weibo.

The facility, Songzao Coal Mine, is owned by state energy firm Chongqing Energy.

Mining accidents are common on the mainland, where the industry has a poor safety record and regulations are often weakly enforced.

At least 14 miners were killed in a coal and gas blast last December at a mine in Guizhou province.

In December 2018, seven miners were killed in Chongqing after the connecting segment of a skip broke and fell down a shaft.

In October the same year, 21 miners died in Shandong province after pressure inside a mine caused rocks to fracture and break, blocking the tunnel and trapping the workers. Only one miner was rescued alive. (AFP)