Rescuers worked on Sunday to free 17 miners that were trapped underground after a gas explosion at a coal mine in Western China, reports the Xinhua News Agency.
The blast occurred at a mine about 70 miles from Urumqi, the capital of the large Xinjiang region in western China. Three people inside the mine had been rescued by press time, the news agency said.
The pit is mined by Dahuangshan Yuxin Coal Mining Co. Ltd., which is owned by the sixth agricultural division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, the Associated Press reports.
China is known for having some of the most dangerous mines in the world, but has improved in recent years with heightened enforcement of safety regulations.