Accident leaves 22 coal miners trapped in northeastern China
BEIJING — Rescuers in northeastern China searched Wednesday for 22 miners trapped underground in the latest accident to befall China’s mining industry.
State media reported that Tuesday night’s accident occurred at a mine in the city of Qitaihe in northeastern Heilongjiang province, a coal-mining region bordering Siberia. The cause of the accident was not immediately reported.
The director of the local coal production safety bureau, who gave his name as Liu, told The Associated Press that officials were trying to confirm exactly how many miners were trapped.
China is the world’s top producer and consumer of coal. It announced plans earlier this year to shutter more than 1,000 underperforming mines, though hundreds of new coal plants are also under construction.