An explosion at a coal mine in northern China has killed at least 25 miners and left more than 100 others trapped.
The official Xinhua news agency says 141 miners are still underground at the state-run Chenjiashan coal mine. It quotes Chinese President Hu Jintao urging rescuers to try every means necessary to save those trapped.
Xinhua reports 127 miners, working near the entrance of the shaft, were able to escape. Forty-one of them have been hospitalized, many of them for carbon monoxide poisoning.
The explosion, which occurred early Sunday, is under investigation.
China's mines are the world's deadliest, with thousands of deaths every year caused by explosions, fires, cave-ins and flooding. Beijing has set aside nearly half a billion dollars to boost mine safety.