All 34 coal miners trapped underground on Sunday in north China after explosives caught fire have been confirmed dead, state media said today.
The news brings the death toll from two recent accidents to 81.
The miners suffocated after more than four tons of illegally stored explosives caught fire, generating toxic gas, at the Nanshan Colliery in Shanxi province, where a quarter of China's coal is produced.
All 47 miners trapped by a November 5th gas blast at the Jiaojiazhai coal mine, also in Shanxi, had been confirmed dead with one last body found on Thursday, Xinhua news agency said.
The almost daily series of accidents highlights China's uphill battle to clean up its mining industry while struggling to meet booming demand and high prices for coal, which fuels about 70 per cent of its energy consumption.
In the rush for profits, safety regulations are often ignored, production is pushed beyond limits, and dangerous mines that have been shut down are reopened illegally.