China coal mine blast death toll jumps to 87

BEIJING -- A state news agency says the death toll in a northeast China coal mine blast has jumped to 87.

The official Xinhua News Agency says another 21 people are still trapped underground Sunday after the pre-dawn blast a day earlier at the state-run Xinxing mine in Heilongjiang province near the border with Russia.

The massive explosion cut power in the mine as well as ventilation and communication links, hampering the efforts of more than 300 rescue workers.

A total of 528 people were working in the mine at the time of the 2:30 a.m. explosion and 389 escaped after the blast, the latest to hit China's mining industry, the world's deadliest.

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