Toll climbs in China mine blast

More than 40 miners have died and dozens remain trapped underground after a gas explosion in a coal mine, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reports.

The blast at the mine in Gujiao City, in Shanxi province, occurred before dawn when 436 miners were underground.

Xinhua said 340 miners had managed to escape, but some had died in hospital and others were badly hurt.

China has the world's deadliest mining industry, with 3,200 deaths reported last year.

But the true figure of those killed is believed to be far higher, says the BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Beijing, as many accidents go unreported.

Illegal mining, official corruption and weak safety inspections lead to tens of thousands of accidents in Chinese mines each year, our correspondent says.

Rescue operation

Early reports from Xinhua suggested 96 miners were trapped after the explosion at about 0200 (1800 GMT) and that 11 miners had died. It is unclear how many are still trapped.

Rescue workers were reported to be on the scene attempting to rescue the workers from the mine, which is owned by the Shanxi Jiaomei Group.

The group is China's largest producer of coking coal and operates 28 mines, according to the Associated Press news agency.

China has said safety is improving, with officials saying the number of fatalities from coal mining accidents had fallen 15% in 2008 compared with the previous year.

Xinhua also reported that the number of accidents had fallen by 19% to 413,700 last year.

BBC