Chinese government sources have reported to the news agency Xinhua that the accident happened on Saturday near Hanchen city in the Shaanxi province.
Although Xinhua does not mention anything about the cause of the accident, local media have reported that it was a fire of the electric cables in the mine shaft that was the reason for the tragedy.
The owner of the mine has now been arrested.
Last month, 47 workers lost their lives in an explosion at a government owned coal mine in the Henan province, and according to official statistics, 2631 miners died in China last year. Independent sources assume that this number is much higher in real life as many accidents are kept secret in order to prevent closing of the mines.
