2 coal mine blasts kill 40 miners in less than 24 hours in southwestern China

BEIJING – Authorities say 40 miners have died in two separate coal mine explosions in southwestern China.

Provincial officials say 28 miners were killed in a blast Saturday afternoon at a coal mine in Sichuan province. They say 108 people were working underground at the time.

Less than 24 hours earlier, another coal mine blast in neighboring Guizhou province killed 12 people.

China's mines are the deadliest in the world. Authorities have improved safety in recent years, but regulations are often ignored.