China mine blast kills 18, 43 missing

BEIJING - An explosion at a Chinese coal mine killed at least 18 people and left 43 missing, the Beijing News reported, the latest in an all-too-familiar series of fatal colliery accidents.

The explosion in Zhenxiong in the southwestern province of Yunnan happened on Sunday morning, the newspaper said.

China's coal industry is the deadliest in the world, with 2163 miners killed in 1320 accidents in the first seven months of 2007.

In May, a coal mine blast in northern Shanxi province killed 28 people.

- REUTERS