Six missing as authorities pledge to launch more safety checksAn excavator loads coal onto a train in Pingdingshan in Henan province of central China. (Reuters File Photo)SHANGHAI - At least 10 people have died and six are missing after a coal mine accident in the city of Pingdingshan in central China, the local emergency management agency said on Saturday. A safety inspection campaign in coal-rich Pingdingshan, in Henan province, could disrupt coal production there and strain coal supplies. Last November, coal prices in China jumped after the country’s cabinet vowed to ramp up safety checks as deaths from accidents in Shanxi, the top coal producing region, had risen sharply. The Pingdingshan emergency management bureau said in a statement that the accident occurred around 2.55pm local time on Friday due to a coal and gas outburst at a mine owned by Pingdingshan Tianan Coal Mining.
