China: mine explosion, 21 killed

China: mine explosion, 21 killed

Five more people were missing following the explosion in the Wulong Coal Mine in Fuxin, a city in Liaoning province, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

The mine is owned by the Fuxin Mining Group, a state enterprise that also owns the Sunjiawan mine where 214 people were killed in a Valentine's Day blast last year. That was China's worst mining disaster in 60 years.

China's coal mines are the world's deadliest, accounting for about 80 percent of all such fatalities anywhere. There were 5,986 miners killed in 3,341 explosions, fires and floods in 2005 - about the same as in 2004, according to the AP.