One of the state-run coal mines in the Xinxing mine in Heilongjiang province caved in after a massive blast tore through the mining area, killing 42 miners and trapping 66 other miners, with the rescue efforts at their peak to rescue the miners.

This latest tragedy has brought the spotlight to the highly dangerous mining industry of China, that has in the recent past been marred with a string of accidents and tragedies that have led to an immense loss of life. China is one of the biggest mining nations in the world and has numerous large scale state run mines that, the government has been constantly trying to inculcate safer standards to.

Out of the 528 people who were working in the Xinxing mine at the time of the explosion, 389 people escaped the cave in. The explosion occurred at around 0230 hours local time, that killed 42 miners and trapped 66 others. However, 31 of trapped miners have been rescued from at a depth of 500 meters underground. The explosion severed ventilation and communication links in the mine, that has led to hurdles for the rescue teams.

The Chinese government has long been trying to curb the explosion of unregulated new mines that are sprouting nowadays all across China. These unlawful mining entities amount to about 80% of the total number of mines in the country. As per government estimates, more than 303 people have died in various mining incidents in the last months and the primary reason of such accidents have been gas explosions.

Via Associated Press.