It comes less than a week after dozens of miners were pulled safely from a cave-in at another Chinese coal mine. Eight died in that accident.[break]
Thirty firemen, 100 rescuers and 300 medical workers were on site at the Sizhuang Coal Mine, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing Yunnan province´s emergency response office.
The exact number of miners underground was still being verified, the agency said.
The accident happened about 6:30 a.m. at the mine in the city of Qujing in Yunnan, southwest China.
More information on the accident or rescue attempt was not available as local authorities could not be reached by phone Thursday afternoon.
China´s coal mines are the deadliest in the world, although the industry´s safety record has improved in recent years as smaller, illegal mines have been closed. Annual fatalities are now about one-third of the high of nearly 7,000 in 2002.
Last week, 52 miners were rescued from a mine in Henan province after a cave-in.
The rescue was the biggest in the country since April 2010, when 115 miners were pulled out alive after being trapped for eight days in a mine in northern China.
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