A mine explosion in Henan, China's third-largest coal producing province, killed 46 miners on Monday, while another 26 narrowly escaped, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
The 72 miners were trapped after stored explosives blew up at the Xingdong No.2 Mine in Weidong district of Pingdingshan in Henan province, it said.
Henan produced 208 million tonnes of coal in 2008, nearly 10 percent of the country's total output. Last year, Pingdingshan ordered all 157 coal mine shafts within its district to close, after a mine explosion killed 35 people in September.
Xinhua said the low gas-concentration Xingdong mine has an annual production capacity of 90,000 tonnes. It is not known what caused the explosives to blow up.
Thousands of people are killed in China's mines every year because of strong demand for energy and lax standards, despite government pledges to shut or consolidate many small or unsafe operations to help cut accidents.
The number of people killed in coal mines dropped to 2,631 in 2009, an average of seven a day, from 3,215 in 2008, according to official statistics.
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