Blast kills eight Vietnam miners
Eight miners have been killed in an explosion at a coal mine in northern Vietnam that was believed to have been caused by methane gas.
Rescuers in Quang Ninh province, 190km (120 miles) east of Hanoi, recovered the bodies after conducting a five-hour search on Monday.
A Thong Nhat Coal Mine Company official said the bodies were badly burned.
The country's worst mining accident, which killed 16 workers, also occurred in Quang Ninh, in 1999.
The miners on Monday were only 15 minutes into their shift when the suspected explosion from a methane pocket occurred, company administrative head Le Xuan Nhuong said.
Quang Ninh is the country's main coal-producing region.
Coal exports earned Vietnam a record $658m (£376m) last year, with China and Japan the main destinations.
BBC News - March 7, 2006.
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