Another deadly day in the world’s deadliest mining industry. At least 42 miners are dead and 66 trapped following an underground gas blast at the state-owned Xinxing colliery in Heilongjiang, 250 miles northeast of Harbin near the Russian border. Xinhua said more than 400 miners on shift had escaped and 29 were in hospital injured, six seriously. The blast occurred 400 metros below the surface at 2.30 a.m., cutting power, ventilation and communication links. Mines have been working flat out to meet additional demand for coal caused by heavy snows in southeastern China. Despite a drive to close small mines, where safety standards are often laxest, in the first nine months of this year, China’s coal mines had 11 serious accidents with 303 deaths — an average of more than one a day.
Update: The death toll has risen to 87 as of Sunday morning, Xinhua reports, making this the deadliest mine accident in nearly two years.
Update: The death toll has risen to 107 as of Wednesday morning, Xinhua reports.
China Bystander 
My heart goes out to the families and friends of the miners lost or maimed.
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