At least 23 coal miners remain trapped beneath the surface at the Sizhuang Coal Mine in Yunnan province's city of Qujing due to a gas eruption at around 6:30 a.m on Thursday that killed 20. Local rescue operations are currently underway but are marred by a hazardous gas leak. more ›

The notoriously deadly mining situation in China has finally taken a turn for the better with the recent ongoing rescue of 26 miners in Heilongjiang province. Trapped since the mine flooded on August 23rd, 3 miners were rescued last Saturday, and 19 more were pulled from the mine Tuesday morning - after seven days underground! They managed to stay alive by drinking water drops and with the food and air supplied by a 920-foot pipe drilled down through the rock to assist them. So far all survivors are hospitalized and in good condition, bringing hope for the others. The mine flooding, usually a hopeless death sentence in China, occurred when they accidentally drilled into an adjacent flooded mine. The worst thing about this accident is that the mine involved was operating illegally, after being ordered to shut down back in 2007. more ›

Last week we posted about a coal mine fire in east Shandong province that trapped 36 miners underground in a mine owned by Zaozhuang Fangbei Coal Mine Co. Ltd. In more recent news, 24 miners remain trapped with little hope of a successful rescue. more ›

• Boy Killed Anally When Office Chair Explodes [Gizmodo] "Well, stories don't get much worse than this. A 14-year-old boy in China was killed when his chair exploded, sending chunks of metal into his rectum. The bleeding this caused killed him."
• Is anything made in the U.S.A. anymore? You'd be surprised [International Herald Tribune] "The United States remains by far the world's leading manufacturer by value of goods produced. It hit a record $1.6 trillion in 2007 - nearly double the $811 billion of 1987. For every $1 of value produced in China factories, the United States generates $2.50. So what is made in the U.S.A. these days?"
• More than 20 dead in N China coal mine accident [Xinhua] "The accident occurred at about 2: 00 a.m. Sunday at the Tunlan Coal Mine of Shanxi Coking Coal Group in Gujiao City near Taiyuan, the provincial capital, when 436 miners were working underground."