BEIJING, April 27 (UPI) -- Chinese Vice Premier Huang Ju is calling for improved safety measures in China's mines, which have the worst safety record in the world.
Thousands of Chinese miners are killed every year by explosions, cave-ins, poisonous gasses or flooding.
Huang was quoted by state-run media Wednesday saying "ensuring safe production in coal mines is a top priority of the country." He made the remarks at a two-day conference on mine safety in Huainan.
Meanwhile, 30 miners remained missing after being trapped underground by flooding in a coal mine in Jiaohe in northeastern Jilin province. Ten rescue workers at the site were hospitalized Tuesday for carbon monoxide poisoning.
In another incident, the death toll rose to five Wednesday from a mine blast in Wuhai, a city in China's Inner Mongolia region. Hopes were fading that seven miners trapped underground Tuesday were still alive.
