In China, authorities have confirmed the deaths of 13 workers trapped in a flooded coal mine in the northwest of the country at the weekend. A spokesman for the rescue operation today said the last five bodies were pulled this morning from the pit in the city of Jiuquan in Gansu province. According to official figures, a total of 2,631 miners were killed in China last year. Last weekend alone, more than 50 miners were killed in four separate accidents.China's vast coal mining industry is notoriously accident-prone due to lax regulation, corruption and inefficiency as mines rush to meet soaring demand. China relies on coal-generated power for about 70 per cent of its electricity needs.