Twelve miners were killed and two others injured in a colliery gas explosion in southwest China's Guizhou Province, local authorities said today.
The accident happened yesterday at the Dashan coal mine in Pingba county when 30 people were working in the mine, according to the Guizhou Provincial Administration of Work Safety.
After the explosion, 16 miners were lifted from the pit safely but 10 others were found dead.
Four of the injured miners were rushed to the hospital where two of them died, state-run Xinhua news agency said.
Meanwhile, government authorities have ordered the Dashan coal mine to close while a deputy county head who oversees safety work in the county has been suspended pending further investigations.
