Coal mine blast kills 24 miners in northern China

CHINA: At least 24 miners were killed and 10 others trapped Monday by an explosion in a coal mine in northern China, state media reported, the latest in a string of fatal incidents to hit the country's dangerous mining industry.

The blast occurred at the Nanshan coal mine in Shanxi province's Lingshi County, China Central Television said in its midday broadcast.

The mine was operating illegally in defiance of a government order issued in September to cease production after its safety license expired, CCTV said.

A man who answered the phone at the administrative office of Lingshi's county government said he was "unclear" about the incident and refused to take further questions. The Nanshan mine was not listed in the local telephone directory.

Also Monday, the death toll in another coal mine explosion in the same province climbed by 12 to 35, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Twelve more miners were still missing from the Nov. 5 gas blast at the Jiaojiazhai mine in Xinzhou city, the agency said.

China's poorly regulated mining industry is the deadliest in the world, with about 6,000 people killed each year in explosions, floods, collapses or other disasters. Lax safety rules and poor safety procedures are often to blame.

Beijing, Monday, AP