Explosion at Chinese coal mine in Heilongjiang province traps 19 workers

Nineteen workers have been trapped after an explosion at a coal mine in China’s north-east Heilongjiang province.

Work safety authorities in Hegang city told Xinhua that when the blast occurred, 52 miners were working under the shaft.

Authorities reported that 33 of 50 miners managed to escape.

Following the explosion, the fire continued to burn for almost an entire day.

Search-and-rescue efforts are still ongoing to find survivors.

The accident comes shortly after 21 people were killed in a coal mine fire in the same province in November 2015.

It was reported that 38 people were working at the shaft’s bottom of the mine, which is operated by Heilongjiang Longmay Mining.