SHANGHAI, Friday, Dec. 7 — A gas explosion at a coal mine in northern China late Wednesday killed at least 105 people in one of the country’s worst mining accidents this year, the official Xinhua news agency said Friday.

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China Daily, via Reuters
Chinese rescue workers helped guide a survivor toward medical help Thursday. The man had been caught in a blast at the Ruizhiyuan mine in Shanxi, a major coal-producing province.
The explosion occurred in the city of Linfen, about 240 miles south of Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi Province, in a huge coal-producing region. The official media reports said at least 15 other miners had been rescued or had escaped on their own. It was unclear how many people had been working in the mine at the time of the accident.

Many of the rescued miners were hospitalized after the explosion, which took place at a mine operated by the Ruizhiyuan Mining Company.

Xinhua reported that the blast occurred at 11:15 p.m. Wednesday, but that the local authorities were not told until 5 a.m. Thursday. The death toll climbed during the day and reached 105 Friday after 26 bodies were recovered overnight.

The government said two mine officials, including the head of the mine, were being held by the police. Xinhua also reported that the accident may have been caused by illegal activity in an unauthorized area of the mine.

Coal mining accidents are a common occurrence in China, where on average more than 5,000 miners lose their lives every year, the worst accident rate in the world. Nearly every week, there are news reports of mining blasts, deaths, rescue efforts and teams of miners trapped in horrific circumstances. By comparison, there are typically about 30 mining deaths a year in the United States.

Last year, though, China reported that about 4,700 miners were killed in accidents. It was the first time in 30 years that there were fewer than 4,800 mining deaths. Most of the accidents here, though, involve small, private and illegal coal mines. The government has tried to crack down on illegal mines in recent years, but soaring coal prices and widespread corruption in the coal industry have encouraged small-mine operators to secretly enter the business.

In August, about 170 miners died in eastern Shandong Province after heavy rains flooded several coal mines.

A Chinese official announced Thursday that the country’s coal production could reach 2.5 billion tons by 2010, up from about 2.2 billion tons in 2005.

China’s demand for coal is soaring to power the country’s fast-growing economy. China produces twice as much coal as the United States, the world’s second-largest producer.