Coal mine disaster

last updated 8 January 2015

Fuxin, China

Trapped gas ignited in a Chinese coal mine this week, killing at least 200 miners. It was China’s worst reported mining accident since Communist Party rule began, in 1949. The explosion, 800 feet below ground, was just the latest in a series of mining disasters over the past few years. Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has pledged to enforce new safety regulations, but the stricter rules have done nothing to eliminate dilapidated mining equipment and overcrowded mine shafts. China accounts for more than 80 percent of mining deaths worldwide, with 6,000 last year alone.