Yesterday afternoon, the death toll from a mine collapse in China rose to 13 while 8 remained trapped, reported state media.
The incident occurred on Oct 20th in Yuncheng County, Shandong Province in East China at the Longyun Coal Mining Co. Ltd.
The accident on Sunday was caused after a rock burst and destroyed part of a water drainage tunnel in the coal mine, Xinhua said.
The miners are trapped in a tunnel 74 metres below the surface, with falling coal seam on both ends.
Rescuers have cleared 42 metres of the tunnel as of Sunday morning, and are working on the remainder from both ends.
China’s coal mines has one of the world’s deadliest records for miners. According to China daily, accidents killed 2,631 Chinese coal miners in 2009 and 6,995 miners in 2002.
Following a series of campaigns against illegal mining, the number of deaths from the coal industry has fallen steadily since its peak in 2002.
