IN BRIEF (Page 4)

Heilongjiang

9 killed in coal mine gas blast

Nine people were killed in a coal mine gas explosion in Heilongjiang province on Wednesday afternoon, local authorities said. The explosion occurred at about 2:40 pm at the Yuchen coal mine in Jidong county, the county government said on Thursday. At the time of the blast, 17 miners were working underground. Of those, eight were rescued and rushed to the hospital, where they are in stable condition.