27 trapped in China coal mine blast

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HUAINAN. KAZINFORM - Twenty-seven people remain trapped after a blast occurred in a coal mine in east China's Anhui Province early Tuesday, the rescue headquarters said.

The accident occurred at 3:58 a.m. in the Dongfang Coal Mine in Xiejiaji District of Huainan City, when 39 miners were in the underground shaft, said Wu Zhiyong, deputy director of the district's work safety supervision bureau.

Twelve workers were lifted out of the mine after the blast. One of them was hospitalized after suffering burns. Twenty-seven others remain trapped underground, Kazinform has learnt from Xinhua.

Rescue work is under way but has encountered difficulties after part of the coal mine tunnel collapsed following the blast, Wu said.

The licensed mine is privately owned and has an annual capacity of 90,000 tonnes. The Huainan municipal government ordered all coal mines to suspend production on June 30 and July 1 due to the flood season. But the mine did not obey the order.

The cause of the accident is being investigated.

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