3 coal mine workers killed in China after water rushes in

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BEIJING (AP) — Water rushed into a coal mine in northwestern China’s Gansu province, leaving three workers dead, official state news agency Xinhua reported Tuesday.

There were 133 people working in the mine when the flooding happened on Monday evening at a depth of about 610 meters (2,000 feet).

The report didn’t provide any details on how the three victims died, but said that the bodies were found 18 hours after the flooding happened. The other 130 workers were evacuated to safety within an hour of the flooding at the Jingmei Energy Co. mine in Gansu, a major coal-producing region.

China has been working to improve mine safety to prevent disasters, which happen frequently. A coal mine explosion killed 11 people in Shanxi in August 2023, a coal mine fire in southern Guizhou province killed 16 people in September, and a coal mine cart ran off the tracks in northeastern Heilongjiang province killed 12 people in December 2023.

A fire at a coal mining company building killed 26 people and injured dozens of others in Shanxi in 2023. The blaze wasn't in the mine itself.