BEIJING (AP) — Government authorities say 82 people are trapped a third of a mile underground after a gas explosion that killed 31 people in a northern China coal mine.
China Central Television reports the explosion was caused by a gas buildup. The State Administration of Work Safety says more than 500 people were working in the mine early Saturday at the time of the explosion.
It says nearly 400 people managed to escape the blast that shattered windows within 20 yards of the mine shaft.
China's mines are the world's deadliest, with unregulated operations accounting for almost 80 percent of the country's 16,000 mines.
