HARBIN (Reuters) – A gas explosion killed 42 miners  in a Chinese mine yesterday and 66 remain trapped hundreds of  metres (yards) underground after the latest accident to hit the  world’s deadliest mining industry, state media said.

The blast ripped through the mine at about 2.30 a.m. when  there were 528 people at work, but more than 400 have now got  out safely, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing rescue  team spokesman Zhang Jinguang.

The blast was so violent it shook the surrounding area.  Buildings near the mine mouth have partially collapsed, and some  survivors were knocked unconscious temporarily.

“I passed out for a while. I found I was shrouded by heavy  smoke, when I regained consciousness. I groped my way out in the  dark,” 27 year-old electrician Wang Xingang told Xinhua.

Wang is in hospital with 28 others who escaped the mine,  said Pan Xiaowen, deputy director of the Hegang Mining Bureau  Hospital. Six of them are seriously injured.