27 dead in China coal mine blast

The explosion in a facility of Anxin Coal Mining Co inChina's northern Shanxi province occurred on Friday morning,when 58 miners were working underground, the official Xinhuaagency said. Fifteen miners had managed to escape, and anothernine were rescued, it added.

China, the world's largest producer and consumer of coal,has the world's deadliest mining industry.

It has been battling to improve standards in its mines, butaccidents are common as owners push production beyond safetylimits to meet robust demand to fuel the country's economicboom.

(Reporting by Sophie Taylor; Editing by Jerry Norton)