An explosion at a coal mine in central China killed 26 miners who were working despite an order to halt production, officials said Wednesday, while a mine tunnel collapse elsewhere left four dead in the latest accidents to strike the country's mining industry. The death toll from the blast Tuesday evening at the mine in Henan province's Mianchi County doubled after 13 more bodies were found, said an official surnamed Li from the Henan Administration of Coal Safety. Another 20 miners managed to escape from the mine, he said, adding it was unclear why the mine had initially reported that only 33 miners were working underground at the time of the blast. A police investigation is under way, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
