Mining Health & Safety: 10 miners killed in China mine explosion

At ten Chinese miners were found dead Sunday hours after they were trapped underground in an explosion at a mine in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, state media said. The cause of the incident at the Xingyun Mine in the city of Jixi was under investigation, the state-run China News Service said.

China’s mines are the world’s deadliest, although a push to boost safety has considerably lowered death tolls in accidents. Just over 1,000 deaths in 604 coal mining accidents were reported in 2013, down from more than 6,000 per year a decade ago.

At the same time, demand for coal has plateaued as China’s economy decelerates from the headlong rush of the last decade.