China's state news agency says 15 miners were killed and
three others hurt when the mine carriages they were in
plunged into a tunnel.
Xinhua said the accident happened early today in Hunan
province in central China when the miners were riding in mine
carriages that were designed to transport coal only.
It said the three hurt miners survived by jumping or being
thrown from the carriages.
China's coal mines are the most dangerous in the world
because of lax safety practices, but the government has
worked hard in recently years to improve that and mine
fatalities have fallen to about one-third from a high of
nearly 7000 in 2002.
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.