15 killed in China coalmine blast

At least 15 miners have died in a gas explosion in a coalmine in north China's Shanxi province, reports said on Sunday.

At least 15 miners have died in a gas explosion in a coalmine in north China's Shanxi province, reports said on Sunday.

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The gas blast occurred on Saturday afternoon at Pudeng Coal Mine in Kecheng town of Puxian county while 125 miners were working in the shaft.

While 95 miners escaped, 30 were trapped underground, according to the Puxian County Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Rescue operations are still underway, officials said.

Pudeng Coal Mine, which is fully licensed, boasts of an annual production capacity of 150,000 tonnes a year.