</s>BEIJING: Fifteen miners are confirmed dead and 18 missing after a coal mine explosion in southwest China Monday, state media reported, the latest mining disaster in the country.

More than 200 rescue workers including firefighters, armed police and mine experts are searching shafts at the Jinshangou mine in the town of Laisu in the Chongqing Municipality’s Yongchuan district, Xinhua news agency reported.

It said 35 miners were working underground when the gas explosion ripped through the mine in the morning and just two managed to escape.

All coal mines in the municipality have been ordered to stop production for safety checks following the blast at the privately-owned mine, which is licensed to produce 60,000 tons of coal a year.

China is the world’s largest coal producer and deadly accidents are common.

In September at least 18 people were killed after a mine explosion in the northwestern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

In March 19 people died in a coal mine accident in the northern province of Shanxi.

Officials say the number dying annually in the country’s mines has fallen substantially in the past decade, to fewer than 1,000 a year.

But some rights groups argue the actual figures are significantly higher due to under-reporting. — AFP</s>BEIJING — The Latest on an explosion in a western China coal mine (all times local):

State media now say 13 miners have been found dead after a gas explosion inside a coal mine in western China, and rescuers continue to search for another 20 people trapped inside.

The state-run Xinhua News Agency said Tuesday that rescuers had found the bodies of 13 people inside the Jinshangou coal mine in China's Chongqing region where the explosion occurred before noon Monday.

Xinhua had previously reported 15 deaths in the explosion, but said Tuesday that Chongqing's deputy mayor corrected previous reports from local coal mine safety authorities.

Local officials did not answer phone calls from The Associated Press, and a person answering the phone at the coal mine hung up.

Fifteen people have been confirmed dead from a gas explosion inside a coal mine in western China, and the status is still unknown for 18 others trapped inside.

Rescuers on Tuesday were still trying to locate survivors inside the Jinshangou coal mine in China's Chongqing region where the explosion occurred before noon Monday.

Xinhua News Agency cited the Chongqing municipal coal mine safety inspection bureau in reporting the deaths. Local officials did not answer phone calls from The Associated Press.

Two people had been rescued earlier.</s>BEIJING — A gas explosion ripped through a coal mine in western China on Monday, leaving 33 miners trapped, a local government official said. Two other miners were rescued, he said.

The condition of those underground isn’t known and rescue work is continuing, said the official, reached by phone at the Yongzhou district government propaganda office in the sprawling Chongqing region. He refused to give his name, as is common with Chinese public servants.

The blast occurred shortly before noon, state media reported. Such accidents are often caused when a flame or electrical spark ignites gas leaking from the coal seam. Ventilation systems are supposed to prevent gas from becoming trapped.

China’s mining industry has long been among the world’s deadliest, although safety improvements and the closure of smaller, more dangerous mines have reduced the death toll in recent years.

China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal but has announced plans to shutter more than 1,000 outdated mines. The head of China’s State Administration of Work Safety said this year that struggling coal mines might be likely to overlook maintenance.</s>Rescuers searched for 20 missing coal miners in southwestern China on Tuesday, a day after an explosion killed at least 13 workers and spread poisonous gas into parts of the mine.

Two miners managed to escape from the Jinshangou coal mine in Chongqing municipality, where firefighters and militia members were digging through tunnels blocked by debris after Monday’s blast, state broadcaster CCTV said.

“The rescue team has carried out three underground operations so far,” Chongqing deputy mayor Mu Huaping told a press conference on Tuesday, CCTV said.

“We have found that some tunnels have collapsed and the amount of poisonous gas has exceeded the alarm level at some parts,” he said.

Chongqing officials ordered the temporary closure of some coal mines in the area while investigators look into the accident at the Jinshangou mine, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Coal accounts for almost two-thirds of China’s energy consumption, but its mines are among the world’s deadliest, due to lax enforcement of safety standards.</s>Eighteen others who were trapped in the mine are still unaccounted for, Xinhua reported.

The explosion happened at about 11:30 a.m. (11.30 p.m. Sunday ET) at the privately-owned Jinshangou Coal Mine in Laisu town in Chongqing's Yongchuan district, Xinhua reported.

Two of the 35 miners underground at the time managed to escape, according to a statement posted to the Chongqing press office's official Weibo social media page.

More than 200 rescue workers, including firefighters, police and rescue specialists are at the site, trying to locate and save the missing miners, Xinhua reported.

Chongqing's coal mine safety inspection bureau has ordered all coal mines in the municipality to halt production pending safety inspections, it reported. The cause of the explosion is under investigation, city officials said. Mining accidents are not uncommon in China. In March, 12 people were killed by a gas leak in a mine in the northeastern province of Jilin, while in January, four miners were rescued after 36 days of being trapped underground . At least one miner died in that accident.</s>BEIJING (AP) — CORRECTS: State media say 13 confirmed dead, 20 still trapped after gas explosion in Chinese coal mine. (Corrects APNewsAlert that reported 15 dead and 18 trapped)</s>BEIJING — Chinese state media say 33 miners are trapped after a gas explosion ripped through the shaft in which they were working.

The Xinhua News Agency says the condition of those underground isn't known.

Citing local officials, it says the blast ripped through the mine in the sprawling western region of Chongqing shortly before noon Monday.

China's mining industry has long been among the world's deadliest, although safety improvements and the closure of smaller, more dangerous mines have reduced the death toll in recent years.

China is the world's largest producer and consumer of coal but has announced plans to shutter more than 1,000 outdated mines. The head of China's State Administration of Work Safety said this year that struggling coal mines might be likely to overlook maintenance.</s>Less than a year after the coal industry was declared to be in terminal decline, markets for coal used to generate power and make steel have surged - boosted by moves in China to mine less of its own coal and import more.

Glencore acquired the underground Integra mine, formally called Glennies Creek, in 2015 after it was mothballed by then owner Vale of Brazil. It plans to restart it early next year.

"The Integra underground mine has been on care and maintenance since July 2014 and Glencore has continued to assess options for a restart against global coal market conditions," the company said.

The mine is expected to yield 1.3 million tonnes of coal in 2017, according to Glencore.

The unprecedented surge in coal prices in the past few months to more than double their June levels is a big fillip for Glencore and other coal miners.

Peabody Energy Corp and Nippon Steel last month set the fourth quarter metallurgical coal contract benchmark at $200 a tonne, more than twice the price of the previous quarter.

Glencore said in October it would rehire about 200 workers at its Collinsville coal mine, also in Australia, after cutting 180 jobs to combat weak pricing.

China has cut working days on coal mines to 276 days from 330 days to remove excess capacity, leading to higher demand for imports.
At least 13 people are killed and 20 others are missing following a gas explosion in a coal mine in western China's Chongqing region.