China coal mine flood traps 103 underground

BEIJING - A flood has trapped 103 miners underground in China's southern Guangdong province in the latest accident to hit the world's deadliest mining industry.

Rescue efforts were under way at the Daxing colliery in Xingning city, Xinhua news agency quoted a local official as saying. No further details were immediately available.

Mines claimed some 2,700 lives in the first half of this year alone and the number of major accidents more than doubled compared with the same period in 2004, Xinhua reported recently.

Last year more than 6,000 people died in explosions, flooding, collapses or other mine accidents.

China, which relies on coal for more than two thirds of its energy needs and is the world's top producer of the fuel, is trying to improve standards in the disaster-plagued industry.

Beijing has recently announced the closure of a string of tiny private mines, often the worst violators of safety regulations.

But high prices and the booming economy's voracious appetite for power encourage some to reopen illegally and others to ignore regulations or push production beyond safe capacity.

China's coal consumption is expected to rise by around six per cent this year, Xinhua quoted the China Coal Industry Association as saying.

- REUTERS