At least 63 miners have been killed and 23 are missing after a gas explosion at a coal mine in eastern China.
The explosion struck the Luling mine near the city of Hefei yesterday, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Xinhua said 27 of the 113 people working in the mine at the time of the blast were rescued.
Rescuers have found no signs that the 23 missing miners are alive, according to an official at the mine.
"The chances that they survived are very small," one rescuer said.
A police spokesman said the missing miners are 1,500 feet below ground.
Hefei is about 600 miles south of Beijing, in Anhui province.
The cause of the explosion is under investigation.
Thousands of miners die every year in mining accidents in China.
AP
