Explosion at New Zealand coal mine | 27 missing

An explosion ripped through New Zealand's largest coal mine Friday with about 30 people underground, officials said. Five workers, dazed and slightly injured, stumbled to the surface, while more than two dozen were missing. 27 people trapped underground


Two men had come out of the mine and were being treated in hospital for moderate injuries. They had told authorities that another three were making their way out. Peter Whittall, chief executive of the mine's owner, Pike River Coal , said he believed 27 people, a mix of miners and external contractors , were trapped.

The company is around 30 percent owned by NZ Oil and Gas Ltd with two Indian companies -- Gujarat NRE and Saurashtra Fuels -- as substantial minority shareholders.

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