A gas explosion has trapped 11 Chinese coal miners underground, the latest in a string of deadly accidents striking the industry after 53 miners were killed in two similar blasts last week.
China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that the Monday night explosion occurred at a mine in central China's Hubei province.
A person answering the phone at the local production safety office declined to answer questions, and then hung up.
It's the third major mining accident in one week for China, the world's top producer and consumer of coal, where such deadly events occur frequently despite a stated public commitment to improving worker safety.
A drive to boost training and technology has significantly reduced the carnage of the last decade, but demand for the fuel continues to provide incentives to cut corners in order to rush production.
State media announced the firings of safety officials after a December 3 blast in Inner Mongolia that killed 32, and the arrests of mine operators after 21 miners were found dead in Heilongjiang province.
Officials also said this year they would shut down more than 1000 underperforming mines, though hundreds of new coal plants are also under construction.
Meanwhile, unlicensed coal operations outside of government supervision operate throughout the country, such as the mine in Heilongjiang province in northeast China where 21 miners were killed.
