Indonesia coal mine toll rising

Coal mining pays, but is difficult and dangerous in Indonesia

Officials in Indonesia say they hold little hope for the miners still buried underground after a gas explosion in a coal mine in West Sumatra.

At least 17 people are now said to have died in the explosion, with 23 others feared dead below ground.

The workers were trapped deep below the surface without access to ventilation or safety equipment.

Indonesia is one of the world's largest coal exporters, but safety standards in its mining industry are low.

"We fear the miners are dead by now," District police Chief Yasman Esha in West Sumatra province told The Associated Press.

Four bodies were recovered soon after the blast on Tuesday morning.

Eight more were pulled out late on Tuesday after teams pumped oxygen into the mine shaft to allow rescuers to breathe.

Health Ministry Crisis Centre chief Rustam Pakaya said 16 miners were rescued, but five with severe burns died later in a hospital. Two others were in critical condition, he said.

Huge blast

Officials say the massive explosion of methane gas was heard over a kilometre away from where the blast took place.

The force of the explosion sent flames 50 metres high into the air leaving a huge gaping hole in the earth where the coal mine used to be.

The BBC's Karishma Vaswani, in Indonesia, says mining provides a steady income for millions of Indonesians but with no official safety standards and poor equipment, the job is often difficult and dangerous.

But coal mining is a lucrative trade in Indonesia, the second largest coal exporter in the world after Australia.