11 iron miners die, 9 hurt, 23 rescued, 2 trapped in blast

Eleven miners were killed and nine injured on Tuesday in an explosion at an iron-ore mine in Liaoning province.

Twenty-three people have been rescued while two remain trapped after the blast at 4 pm in Benxi.

The explosion occurred as Huamei Group, which specializes in mine construction, was building the mine.

All the injured have been sent to a hospital.

The local government has dispatched a team to the site for rescue work.

A total of 219 coal mine accidents occurred in China last year, which killed 375 people.

The country also saw 407 accidents happen to other mines, which claimed 484 lives.

The number of mine accidents and casualties both declined from those a year earlier, according to the State Administration of Work Safety, which has been reshuffled into the Ministry of Emergency Management.