Over the weekend two major coal mine accidents happened in China and Russia.
In the northeast China, an explosion on Saturday killed 18 miners and injured 12 more at the Qingxing coal mine in Helong City, according to state-owned news agency Xinhua. Another 55 were rescued from the mine and released.
The recovery effort wrapped up Sunday mid-day. Mine officials have been taken into police custody and an investigation is underway.
Qingxing mine had been reported for safety violations in the past and government authorities believe a failure to fix hazards caused the accident.
It is the third coal mine gas explosion in the last month in the province. The Babao coal mine in Baishan city had explosions on March 29 and April 1, which killed 53 workers.
In Russia, 13 workers were trapped following a roof collapse Sunday at the Siberian Zarechnaya underground coal mine, reports RIA Novosti, also a state-owned news outlet.
Police officials said all the men were still alive and had been brought to the surface.
When the accident happened, 127 people were working in the mine. About 60 rescue workers were needed for the recovery.
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