SHIJIAZHUANG, China, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- A spokesman for a mining company in China's northern Hebei Province says an accident Monday morning killed four workers and injured 13 others.
The accident happened when the miners mistakenly boarded a transport belt that was being repaired and their weight caused the belt to snap, China's Xinhua news agency reported.
A spokesman for Jizhong Energy Group which owns the Wannian Coal Mine said the accident occurred during a shift change, which makes it difficult to say exactly how many workers were on the belt when it broke.
A similar accident happened last month at a coal mine in Shanxi Province when a cable car rope broke, killing five people and injuring 37 others.
That accident resulted in the firing of two executives of the Shenzhou Mining Company.
