Coal mine explosion in China kills 17, traps 10

The location of the pin on this map shows Chifeng, China, a city in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. A coal mine explosion Saturday killed 17 people in Chifeng and 10 more are trapped inside the mine. Image courtesy Google Maps

CHIFENG, China, Dec. 3 (UPI) — An explosion at a coal mine in northern China killed 17 people Saturday and trapped 10 more inside the mine, according to local authorities.

The blast, reported by state-run Xinhua News Agency, happened around noon local time. The mine is located in the city of Chifeng, which is located in China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

CNN reported the mine is operated by Baoma Mining Co. Officials did not say what caused the explosion. There were believed to be more than 30 people working inside the coal mine when the explosion happened.

Rescue efforts to reach the trapped employees continued into the evening, with city officials telling Xinhua that they had yet to reach the victims more than seven hours after the explosion.

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