China:
Seven persons have been killed in a gas accident in a coal mine in southwest China, state media said on Wednesday , the latest fatal incident to strike the nation's notoriously dangerous collieries.
Thirteen miners managed to escape, the spokesman said, adding that all workers had been accounted for.
The mine managers have been taken into police custody, and an investigation into the mishap is underway, the report said.
Last year, 2,433 people died in coal mine accidents in China, according to official statistics, or a rate of more than six workers per day.
Labour rights groups, however, say the actual death toll is likely much higher than official data indicate, partly due to under-reporting of accidents as mine bosses seek to limit their economic losses and avoid punishment.