16 killed in coal mine collapse in northwestern China

A coal mine shaft collapsed in northwestern China, killing 16 miners, China’s official news agency said Saturday. Another 11 miners were injured in the disaster that struck just before midnight Friday in Tiechanggou township outside the Xinjiang regional capital of Urumqi. China’s mines are among the most dangerous in the world, although improved safety measures have vastly lowered the death toll in recent years. Thirty-three miners were in the shaft when the accident occurred, six of whom were brought out by rescuers, said an official with the State Administration of Work Safety.

While China still produces and consumes almost as much coal as the rest of the world combined, the amount it burned in the first three quarters of 2014 was off by about 2 percent from the same period last year.

Greenpeace energy analysts in China

The official said all of the injured were in stable condition and that the cause of the cave-in was under investigation. State broadcaster CCTV showed footage of injured miners sitting up in their hospital beds and describing their experiences to a reporter. China’s mines are among the most dangerous in the world, although improved safety measures have vastly lowered the number of fatalities in mine accidents in recent years.

Asia-Pacific coal mine