BEIJING (AP) — Twenty-two people are trapped in a coal mine in China after a rock burst destroyed part of a mining tunnel.
The official Xinhua News Agency says the spontaneous fracturing of rock — a kind of earthquake induced by excavation — took place around 11 p.m. Saturday in eastern Shandong province.
More than 300 people were working inside the mine at the time. Most have now been successfully lifted to safety while 22 remain stuck underground.
An official with the Shandong Coal Mine Safety Supervision Bureau told The Associated Press by phone that the incident "has nothing to do with workers' operations."
The official, surnamed Tian, says nearly 140 rescuers have been dispatched.
Xinhua says about 100 meters (328 feet) of a roadway within the mine is also damaged.
