Authorities report that 123 workers remained trapped in a coal mine in China after water poured into the mine and flooding it.

Xinhua reports that 138 of the 261 original crew found a way to escape Xiangning county mine, which covers 180 square kilometers (69.5 square miles) and has an estimated output of some six million tons a year.

Chinese coal mines are reportedly among some of the least regulated and most dangerous in the world, as safety standards are rarely enforced in order to keep up with high demand from a quickly expanding economy.

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