Chinese state media: 17 miners trapped underground
BEIJING (AP) — China’s official news agency says rescuers are working to free 17 miners trapped following a gas explosion at a coal mine in western China.
Xinhua News Agency says the blast happened on Saturday evening. Three other people working inside the mine at the time have been rescued.
Xinhua said Sunday the pit is mined by Dahuangshan Yuxin Coal Mining Co. Ltd., which is owned by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, a paramilitary organization.
China has the world’s deadliest mines, although the safety record has been improving in recent years as regulators have strengthened enforcement of safety rules.
A duty officer at Xinjiang work safety bureau said he had no information about the incident.
Strong earthquake hits off western Indonesia
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A strong earthquake has hit off the coast of western Indonesia, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude-6.0 quake hit Saturday at a depth of 30 kilometers (19 miles). It was centered 88 kilometers (55 miles) southeast of Sinabang, a town on the east coast of Simeulue Island, which lies off the west coast of Sumatra island.
Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago, is prone to earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of volcanoes and fault lines in the Pacific Basin.
In 2004, a massive earthquake off Sumatra triggered a tsunami that killed 230,000 people in a dozen countries. Most of the deaths were in northern Sumatra’s Aceh province.
