In China, at least seven persons were killed and 11 others injured today in a coal mine gas explosion in southwestern Guizhou Province. The explosion occurred in Dahebian Coal Mine in Liupanshui city when 41 people were working underground. <br/><br/>State-run Xinhua news agency reported twenty-three workers have been lifted out of the shaft safely.<br/><br/>The Dahebian coal mine belongs to the state-owned Guizhou Shuicheng Mining Company, which has an annual output of 900,000 tonnes.