Explosion in north China coal mine traps 160 miners, government says

An explosion at a coal mine in northeastern China trapped about 160 miners, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Monday.

The report, citing the local coal mine safety administration, did not give the cause of the blast late Sunday at the Dongfeng Coal Mine, in Qitaihe, a city in Heilongjiang province.

Forty of the 200-some workers underground at the time of the explosion escaped, it said.

The report said rescue work was continuing Monday, as managers attempted to figure out exactly how many miners were still underground.

The mine is owned by the Heilongjiang Longme Mining (Group) Co., a conglomerate of four state-owned coal businesses in the province, Xinhua said, citing provincial work safety administration officials, AP reported. V.A.