BEIJING (AP) — Thirty-two miners were confirmed dead Sunday in the second coal mine explosion in a week in China, state-run media reported.

The gas explosion hit the mine in Chifeng city in the Inner Mongolia region midday Saturday. Out of 181 miners working underground, 149 managed to get out and the rest died, official Xinhua News Agency reported.

The mine was operated by the Baoma Mining Co. Ltd., Xinhua said.

News of the blast came just hours after 21 miners who were trapped for four days after an explosion hit their unlicensed coal mine were confirmed dead in northeast China’s Heilongjiang province. Four people were arrested in connection with that disaster.

China’s mining industry has long been among the world’s deadliest, and top work safety regulators have acknowledged that some mines cut corners on safety standards due to financial pressure.</s>21 Chinese miners trapped for 4 days confirmed dead

BEIJING (AP) — Twenty-one miners who were trapped for four days after an explosion hit their unlicensed coal mine have been confirmed dead, and four people have been arrested in connection with the disaster, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Saturday.

Among the four suspects are the mine owner and three managers, the emergency rescue headquarters said in a statement carried by Xinhua.

One miner is missing in the city of Qitaihe in Heilongjiang province in northeast China, and the rest of the bodies were retrieved on Friday night, Xinhua said.

China is the world's top producer and consumer of coal, and government officials have made a commitment to shutting down unlicensed mines in an attempt to improve safety.</s>BEIJING (AP) — Twenty-one miners who were trapped for four days after an explosion hit their unlicensed coal mine have been confirmed dead, and four people have been arrested in connection with the disaster, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Saturday.

Among the four suspects are the mine owner and three managers, the emergency rescue headquarters said in a statement carried by Xinhua.

One miner is missing in the city of Qitaihe in Heilongjiang province in northeast China, and the rest of the bodies were retrieved on Friday night, Xinhua said.

China is the world’s top producer and consumer of coal, and government officials have made a commitment to shutting down unlicensed mines in an attempt to improve safety.

Although the cause of the blast has not yet been identified, such incidents usually occur when unventilated coal gas is ignited by a spark or open flame.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>BEIJING (AP) — China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency says 21 miners who were trapped for four days after an explosion have been confirmed dead. One is missing.

Xinhua quoted Heilongjiang provincial authorities in northeast China as saying the miners’ deaths were confirmed on Friday night.

State media reported the mine in the city of Qitaihe was unlicensed and the managers were being questioned.

China is the world’s top producer and consumer of coal, and government officials have made a commitment to shutting down unlicensed mines in an attempt to improve safety.

Although the cause of the blast has not yet been identified, such incidents usually occur when unventilated coal gas is ignited by a spark or open flame.</s>FUELLING TROUBLE: The government backed down from a similar proposal in 2014 following union protests.

Senior government officials tasked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with reviewing energy security are recommending the break up of the country’s coal monopoly, Coal India Ltd., within a year.

Attempts to break up the world’s biggest coal miner would be met with strong resistance from powerful unions representing the company’s employees of more than 3,50,000. The government backed down from a similar proposal in the face of union protests in 2014.

About 70 per cent of India’s power generation is coal-based. The country is the world’s third-largest producer and its third-biggest importer of coal, which the government wants to change by boosting local coal production.

In a presentation seen by Reuters, government officials recommend that Coal India, with a stock market valuation of $28 billion, should be broken up into seven companies, which they say will make it more competitive and efficient.

The proposal, dated November 30, is expected to be presented to Mr. Modi soon, three government officials with direct knowledge of the situation said. Calls to a Coal India spokesman went unanswered.

A source close to Power and Coal Minister, Piyush Goyal, said the ministry would review its stand on Coal India depending on what the Prime Minister says. Coal India is the country’s second-biggest employer, but critics say it is bloated and inefficient.

Under Mr. Modi’s government though, production has risen sharply as environmental and other clearances to develop mines have been fast-tracked. The company is also spending billions of dollars on buying modern machinery to increase productivity.

The government wants Coal India to increase production of coal to 1 billion tonnes a year by 2020 from about 539 million tonnes in the fiscal year that ended in March.

Mr. Modi was exploring a breakup of Coal India before taking office, Reuters reported in 2014, but the government put the idea on the back burner following protests by unions.

Unions fear restructuring Coal India would almost certainly lead to job cuts and work being outsourced to private companies. “What happens is that once a big company is broken down, it is easier to control the smaller ones,” said D.D. Ramanandan of the All India Coal Workers’ Federation, which he said, represents more than 1,00,000 workers of the company.

“But if it happens, we will oppose it. We will oppose it through all ways possible, including strike.” — Reuters
The bodies of 21 coal miners are retrieved from an unlicensed coal mine in the Chinese city of Qitaihe in the province of Heilongjiang. Four people have been arrested including the owner of the mine and three managers.