Coal mine accident in China kills 68 people.

QITAIHE, China - Coal dust caught fire in a mine in northeast China, sparking an explosion that killed at least 68 people and left 79 missing, the government said Monday, as the country's leadership called for tighter work safety measures.

Some 221 miners were underground when the blast occurred late Sunday at the Dongfeng Coal mine in Qitaihe, a city in Heilongjiang province, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Seventy-four miners had been rescued by Monday, it said.

Outside the mine, distraught family members sought answers. Among them were four women, apparently relatives of missing miners, who stood at the mine's gates shouting at security guards to let them in. When they weren't allowed in, they became further agitated and screamed insults at the guards...

China's coal mines are the world's deadliest. Fires, floods, cave-ins and explosions are reported almost daily, and thousands of miners are killed every year despite the government's repeated attempts to improve safety and upgrade equipment.