Accidents at two neighboring gold mines in central China's Henan province killed 11 people on Friday, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing local authorities.
Thick smoke engulfed a pit at the Qinling gold mine of China National Gold Group in Lingbao City on Friday morning, trapping 12 workers and six management staff, Xinhua reported on Saturday.
Rescue workers retrieved seven bodies on Friday night. Of the 10 people taken to hospital, one failed to respond to treatment and the other nine were recovering.
One more body was retrieved on Saturday afternoon.
A similar accident was reported in a neighboring gold mine on Friday afternoon, Xinhua said, citing the provincial work safety administration.
Of the six workers trapped, four had been rescued while the other two were found dead later that evening.
Industrial accidents are common in China. Anger over lax standards is rising after 30 years of breakneck economic growth marred by incidents from mining disasters to factory fires.
Earlier on Saturday, an operation platform collapsed at a power plant in southern China, killing nine people.
