Nine miners died of carbon monoxide poisoning at a coal mine in Henan province, in central China, Xinhua news agency reported on Monday.

The agency said, quoting local authorities, that rescuers found three people dead and helped six other to get out, but they died shortly after they were hospitalized.

According to initial results of an investigation, the administration of the mine detected an excessive amount of carbon monoxide in the shaft, where two people were working on Sunday night. Seven more people were sent to check the situation, but contact was lost with them.

The coal industry in energy-hungry China is one of the most dangerous in the world due to poor work safety standards and intensive work schedules. Some 7,000 lives are lost annually in accidents at coal mines in the country.

MOSCOW, July 5 (RIA Novosti)