Two explosions at coal mines in southwest China over the weekend have left 40 miners dead and dozens injured, official media reported.

A gas explosion at a coal mine in Sichuan [2] on Saturday 11 May killed at least 28 miners with 18 injured and eight still in a critical condition. Less than 24 hours earlier, a blast at a mine in Guizhou [3] killed 12 workers and injured two others.

Chinese work safety officials blamed the explosion at the Taozigou mine in Sichuan on illegal mining work and called for the mine to be shut down immediately and its operating license revoked.  The illegal mining work did not have proper ventilation, which had allowed gas to build up to dangerously high levels, officials said.

Despite a steady overall decline in the number of coal mine accidents in China over the last decade, the accident rate in the south-western provinces of Guizhou, Yunnan and Sichuan remains disturbingly high.

As demand for coal increases in China, new mines in southwest China are being opened and old mines reopened in a bid to cash in. Many mines are located in mountainous and geologically unstable areas and all too often insufficient attention is paid to ensuring the integrity of the mine and the safety of the miners.

According to official figures, a total of 1,384 workers died in coal mine accidents in China last year, down from 1,973 in 2011. The figures do not include the millions of miners who have contracted pneumoconiosis and other deadly lung diseases whilst working in the mines.