Explosions tore through two Chinese coal mines hundred of miles apart, killing 23 workers, the government said Monday. A blast in Rong Sheng Coal Mine in Jiudonggou, a village in Inner Mongolia, occurred at 4 a.m. (2000 GMT Sunday) and trapped the 33 miners working in the pit, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Rescue workers saved 12 workers and recovered 12 bodies, it said. An additional nine remained trapped, it said. In another incident, all 11 miners working in Yongxing County in the central province of Hunan were trapped Sunday after an explosion, Xinhua said. Rescuers were not able to enter the mine because of the high density of gas underground, it said.
