Mine Blasts Kill 86, Critically Injure 3

A series of explosions that ripped through three privately run coal mines in central China last week killed 86 miners and critically injured three others, officials said. The blasts near Pingdingshan in central Henan province, which were caused by gas in the connected mine shafts, killed all but 12 of the 98 men caught underground in the three mines and left three of the survivors hospitalized and fighting for their lives, coal bureau officials said. One official said the mine managers had been taken into custody for questioning by government investigators.