MOSCOW, November 9 (RIA Novosti) - A total of 34 miners were reported missing on Thursday after a gas leak in a coal mine in the province of Guizhou in southwestern China, Xinhua news agency said.
Local authorities said of 86 miners working at the shaft, 52 have been rescued and 34 are still missing. A rescue operation is currently underway.
Since late August, five coal mine accidents, claiming 20 lives, have been reported in the province.
The Chinese mining industry is considered one of the world's most dangerous, with some 5,000 miners killed each year by gas leaks, explosions and flooding.
