China coal mine explosion kills 21

Twenty-one miners were killed after a gas explosion in a coal mine early on Friday in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, regional emergency response office was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying. The office said earlier that 22 miners were trapped in the mine following the explosion. Only one survived. The blast happened at 1:26 a.m. at the Baiyanggou coal mine in Hutubi County in Hui Autonomous Prefecture of Changji, when 34 miners were working underground, the prefecture government said. Twelve workers managed to escape. Professional coal mine rescue teams and firefighters had been sent to the site, according to the regional bureau of coal mine safety supervision.