Rescuers die in China mine dig

The rescuers were killed in a cave-in as they sought to retrieve the bodies of miners killed a day earlier by an underground explosion.

These were the rescue teams going in to retrieve the bodies of 15 miners killed in an explosion at a pit in China's north-east Hailongjiang province.

A day afterwards three of the rescuers joined the list of dead as they were caught in a cave-in.

The state-run Xinhua news agency says the mine was operating legally and produced up to 40,000 tonnes of coal a year.

China says it's trying to shut down small and unlicensed operators but the country's record on mine safety makes grim reading.

In the first ten months of this year explosions, gas leaks, flooding and cave-ins claimed the lives of nearly 2, 700 Chinese miners.

And that's an improvement - 13 per cent down on the same period last year.

Paul Chapman, Reuters