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Flood traps 153 miners in northern China


BEIJING — Rescuers were scrambling Monday to save 153 workers trapped after a flood swept through a coal mine in northern China, the country's work safety agency said. Authorities had said Sunday night that 123 workers were missing after the Wangjialing Coal Mine in Shanxi province flooded Sunday afternoon. It wasn't immediately clear why the number jumped to 153 overnight. The State Administration of Work Safety said in a statement on its Web site early Monday that 261 workers were in the mine when it flooded and 108 were lifted to safety. Provincial work safety official were at the site and directing rescue efforts, it said. The official Xinhua News Agency reported that President Hu Jintao ordered local authorities to "spare no effort" in saving the trapped workers. Although China's mine safety record has improved in recent years, the mining industry there is still the deadliest in the world, with blasts and other accidents common. — AP

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