A release of poison gas in a Chinese coal mine killed at least 12 miners and left three missing, the government said Saturday. The disaster occurred Friday in the northern city of Dengfeng, in Henan province, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing the Henan Provincial Coal Industry Bureau. A total of 56 miners were working in the Malingshan Coal Mine at the time of the accident, and 41 escaped, Xinhua said. The gas was released while miners were drilling underground to test a coal seam, Xinhua said. A 37-member rescue team was searching for the three missing miners, Xinhua said. It said rescuers were spraying water inside the mine to minimize airborne coal dust.
