Chinese coal mine collapse leaves 19 dead

By Mahmut Atanur

BEIJING

At least 19 people have died after a coal mine collapsed in northern China while 129 workers were underground.

The owner of Anping Coal Mine Co. in Shanxi Province released a statement Thursday saying that 110 of the workers had escaped when the accident occurred Wednesday night.

State news agency Xinhua reported that an investigation at the site -- owned by Shanxi Datong Coal Mine Group -- is ongoing in Shanyin County.

Chinese mines are among some of the deadliest in the world due to lax regulations and poor operating procedures.

In recent years, the country has produced more than one-third of the world's annual coal output, but accounted for more than two-thirds of global mining deaths annually, according to Mining Technology.

Last month, a gas leak at a coal mine in northeast Jilin Province left 12 miners dead.

In January, 11 workers were killed after a coal mine collapsed in northwest Shaanxi province.