State Council supervises probe into fatal mine accident

The Office of the Work Safety Commission under China's State Council is supervising an investigation into an accident that killed 16 people in a coal mine in Panzhou city, Guizhou province on Sunday, the Ministry of Emergency Management said.

The local government set up an on-site command center to coordinate the rescue efforts.

Guizhou Daily reported that preliminary investigations suggest that the accident was caused by a fire in the transport conveyor belt. The temperature and gas levels in the affected area have returned to normal.