20 killed in China mine, 3 trapped since two days

Twenty miners were killed and three remained trapped underground after a gas outburst hit a major coal mine in Southwest China's Guizhou Province. Nearly 100 rescuers are searching for the three miners who remain missing more than 35 hours after the accident at the coal mine

Twenty-eight miners were working underground when the accident occurred Saturday morning at the Xiangshui Coal Mine, provincial authorities said. By Sunday night, five miners were rescued, with the condition of one being critical, local officials said.

"The search is in full swing after the gas density in the pit declined and rescuers are expected to reach the trapped miners," said Yin Zhihua, Vice Mayor of Liupanshui, in a statement on Sunday, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The mine sits on a coal deposit of 1.3 billion tonnes. Coal produced by Xiangshui feeds Pannan Power Station in the region, which is considered a key part of the government's strategy to send electricity from its resource-rich western region to the power-hungry industry belts in the east.

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