Chinese firefighters tackle mine blaze

The authorities in China are to try to extinguish a fire in a coal mine which has been burning for decades in the northwestern region of Xinjiang.

The official Xinhua news agency said the blaze was emitting hundreds of tonnes of gas and particles into the air every day and was polluting nearby rivers and grasslands.

Fire fighters will drill wells and pour water into the mine, which has already burned through forty-two million tonnes of coal.

The agency said the work would take four years and cost about twelve million dollars, but could save more than seven-hundred million tonnes of coal.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service