Four people trapped in a coal mine accident in North China

Four workers are trapped underground in a coal mine accident in northern China's Shanxi province, local officials said Thursday.

A sudden outburst of coal and gas occurred at 03:51 Thursday at the mine of a coal company affiliated with Huayang New Material Technology Group Co., Ltd. At the time of the incident, there were 12 people in the face, 8 of them managed to rise to the surface, the remaining 4 people were trapped underground.

A search and rescue operation is ongoing, the company said.

For the first two months of 2021, coal mining in China grew by 25% year on year to 620 million tons.