Gas ignition kills 12 in north China coal mine

TAIYUAN, Dec. 28 -- Twelve people died when a gas pocket ignited in a coal mine in north China's Shanxi Province, local officials said Monday.

The accident occurred at 11:30 p.m. Sunday when 16 miners were working in a shaft in the Donggou Colliery in Jiexiu City, said a spokesman with the Shanxi Provincial Work Safety Administration.

The mine was expanding its annual production capacity from the authorized 30 tonnes. The workers violated a safety rule that prohibited the demolition of a wall between the shaft and a disused area of the mine where the gas was accumulated in high density, the spokesman said.

The four survivors were under observation in hospital. Their conditions were unavailable.