Coal mine deaths fall to 14-yr low

The number of people killed in illegal coal mines last year was the lowest for 14 years, but the industry remains a major source of workplace fatalities, the administration of work safety said on Friday.

Across the country, 413,700 accidents and 91,172 deaths were reported last year, the first time since 1995 that the death toll had fallen below 100,000, it said.

The numbers of accidents and fatalities were both down by more than 10 percent on 2007, which had 506,000 accidents and 101,480 deaths.