BBC News Online: World: Asia-Pacific

Two explosions in Chinese coal mine

At least 27 miners have been killed in two explosions at a coal mine in northern China.

The first occurred on Saturday morning at the mine in Chengde County and killed 19 people.

Eight more miners were killed in a second explosion on Sunday as they were trying to recover the dead bodies.

China is the world's largest producer and consumer of coal, but its mines have poor safety records.

Official figures show that more than 5,000 miners died last year, but independent analysts say around 10,000 miners die each year in Chinese coal mines.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service