At least 18 Chinese coal miners killed by lethal gas

BEIJING — China's state TV says at least 18 coal miners have been killed by high levels of carbon monoxide in the country's southwest.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

One miner was found alive following the disaster Friday in the Diaoshidong mine in Chongqing, the report said. Rescuers are looking for five others.

China’s coal mining industry used to be the world’s deadliest, suffering more than 5,000 fatalities a year. Safety improved dramatically after authorities overhauled the industry starting about 15 years ago.

The Associated Press

Mine collapse in Nicaragua traps at least 10


A mudslide in an unlicensed gold mine in Nicaragua trapped at least 10 workers Friday, state-run media reported.

© Rudy GONZALEZ Handout photo released by the Fundacion del Rio of the site of a landslide at a mine in southern Nicaragua on December 4, 2020

Crews began work to try to rescue the miners after the accident in the La Esperanza region of southern Nicaragua.

Vice President Rosario Murillo, who is also the government spokeswoman, did not say how many miners were in the shaft when it collapsed or if there were fatalities.

"We hope not to have bad news," she said, according to the government news site El 19 Digital.

The independent newspaper La Prensa quoted witnesses as saying at least 15 people are trapped in the mine.

In Nicaragua an estimated 3,000 people work in unlicensed mines.

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