A gas explosion in a mine in southwest China killed eight workers and injured four, the official Xinhua news agency reported yesterday. It quoted authorities in Guizhou province as saying that the blast on Saturday occurred at an illegally run mine.

The provincial government had reissued an order for all illegal collieries to halt production immediately and close, Xinhua said. China is home to the world?s deadliest coal-mining industry.

Last year, 3,300 gas blasts, floods and other accidents killed nearly 6,000 miners, according to official figures. Collieries are struggling to meet booming demand for coal, which fuels about 70 percent of the nation?s energy consumption.

In the rush for profits, safety regulations are often ignored, production is pushed beyond limits and dangerous mines that have been shut down are reopened illegally.