The death toll from a northern Chinese coal mine disaster rose to 32 on Sunday, state media reported, the latest accident in a country that has a poor record of industrial safety. While coal accounts for almost two-thirds of China's energy consumption, its mines are among the world's deadliest, due to lax enforcement of safety standards. The latest disaster took place on Saturday in a small mine in the Inner Mongolia region, next to Mongolia, Xinhua news agency said. In the first disaster, authorities confirmed on Friday that 21 people died after a coal mine blast in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang. China has ordered all of the country's coal mines to conduct a safety overhaul in the past month, the deputy director of the country's work safety watchdog said on Friday.

Source: Egypt Independent December 04, 2016 10:40 UTC