Twelve Chinese coalminers were missing today after an explosion at their pit.
The explosion ripped through the coal mine when workers were repairing the shaft in Baofeng in Henan province, Xinhua news agency said.
Elsewhere, hopes have dimmed for the 181 miners trapped in a state-owned colliery in Shandong province, which flooded on August 17th, and rescuers are still struggling to pump out water.
China's coal industry is the deadliest in the world, with 2,163 miners killed in 1,320 accidents in the first seven months of 2007.