China shutters coal mines after explosion ills 37

BEIJING -- Chinese authorities shuttered all coal mines in a large northern city and detained two safety officials after a gas explosion killed at least 37 miners and left five missing, the official news agency said.

The accident was the latest in an industrial sector that has gained a reputation as China's deadliest despite government promises to improve safety.

Rescuers have recovered 20 bodies from the Xingergou mine near the city of Datong in Shanxi province, the Xinhua News Agency said. It said 13 others were found alive after the explosion early Monday but died later at hospitals. In a later dispatch, Xinhua said that 37 were confirmed dead and five missing but gave no details on the figures.

The chance of finding additional survivors was "slim," Xinhua said Tuesday as rescue efforts continued. It said every mine in Datong -- the city and a large swath of its surrounding area -- had been closed for the immediate future.

Also Tuesday, authorities detained two officials from the mine who were responsible for overseeing safety, Xinhua said. It didn't identify the men, nor did it say whether they were charged with any crime. The government has moved in recent years to hold company officials after major mine accidents so they do not flee during subsequent investigations.

Some 286 mine workers were rescued after the explosion. The cause of the explosion was under investigation, Xinhua said.

China's coal mines are the world's deadliest. Last year, more than 5,000 workers were killed in explosions, floods, cave-ins and other accidents.

Most occurred in smaller, privately run mines that lack safety equipment. Xingergou is a state-owned mine, authorities have said.

The Chinese government has promised repeatedly to crack down on dangerous conditions, tighten regulations and close unsafe mines. In 2001, it even encouraged the normally tightly tethered media to uncover unsafe mining operations.