BEIJING — A coal-mine accident in China’s southwest killed 18 workers and trapped five more on Saturday, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
There were 28 workers in the state-owned Xiangshui coal mine in Guizhou province when the coal-and-gas explosion happened about 11 a.m.; five of them were rescued, Xinhua said.
China has the world’s deadliest coal-mine industry, with 1,973 miners killed in accidents last year.
Safety improvements have reduced deaths in recent years, but regulations are often ignored and accidents are still common.
In August, a mine blast in Sichuan province killed 44 people, the highest accident toll for the industry in nearly three years.
In September, 20 miners died after a steel cable broke in a coal mine in northwestern China’s Gansu province.
Front Section, Pages 14 on 11/25/2012