From AP, via ABCNews.com:
More than 6,000 people died in accidents in China’s coal mines and petroleum industries last year, with the proportion of those killed in major disasters rising sharply, the government reported Friday.
The number of total fatalities from 3,341 coal mine explosions, fires and floods was 5,986, nearly level with the 6,027 people killed in 2004, the National Development and Reform Commission said in reports issued on its Web site.