Blasts kill 24 in mine, oil tank in China's west

BEIJING, Oct 29 (Reuters) Separate accidents in China's far west killed at least 24 people, one a blast at a coal mine, the other when an oil tank under construction exploded, state media said.

The mine blast occurred in Miquan city near the Xinjiang regional capital of Urumqi, killing 14 miners whose bodies could not be retrieved until late in the day, Xinhua news agency said.

Another six men working near the mine entrance suffered burns but were not in danger, Xinhua said in an overnight report.

Temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees Celsius prevented rescuers from entering the mine, but crews finally reached the stricken miners through an emergency tunnel some six hours after the explosion, it said.

At least 10 workers were killed when an oil tank under construction exploded last night in a district of Karamay city, about 260 km from Urumqi, Xinhua said, citing local government officials.

The death toll could rise as rescuers were still trying to confirm the exact number of casualties at the tank, being built to store crude oil by Dushanzi petrochemical company, a branch of China National Petroleum Corporation, Xinhua said.

Reuters DKS VP0745