Ten miners dead, 18 missing in China pit-face accident

Mine flood in the western province of Sichuan caused death of 10 miners and 18 reported missing, state media said Wednesday.

The official Xinhua News Agency said the accident at the Longtan mine in Xiaojing township occurred late Tuesday and that efforts to rescue the missing miners were continuing Wednesday.

Xinhua said the mine was only two years old and had an annual production capacity of 550,000 tons.

China's mines are the most dangerous in the world, with more than 6,000 miners killed last year in fires, explosions, floods, cave-ins and other disasters.

The government has repeatedly vowed to do more to stem the carnage. It says it has shut down hundreds of unsafe mines and punished mine owners who put profits ahead of lives, reports the AP.

P.T.