16 killed in coal mine fire in southern China

Joe Fisher
·1 min read
UPI
A CAT endloader moves coal at the Gateway Eagle Mine, an United Mine Workers mine in Pond Fork, Boone County, in southern West Virginia, in March 2016. Sixteen people were killed Sunday after being trapped in a burning coal mine in southern China. File Photo by Debbie Hill/ UPI

Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Sixteen people were killed Sunday after being trapped in a burning coal mine in southern China.

A preliminary investigation has determined that a conveyor belt caught fire in the Shanjiaoshu coal mine in Panguan, in the Guizhou province, according to a statement from the Panzhou county government.

The mine rescue team extinguished the fire and the temperature and gas "have returned to normal," the government said.

China is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The United States is the next largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

The Shanjiaoshu coal mine is one of thousands in China. Safety standards have improved in China's mining operations, but 245 people died in 168 mining accidents last year, Channel News Asia reported.

Last month, a coal mine explosion in the Shaanxi province killed 11 people.