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HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - Six workers were killed in a fire in an underground coal tunnel in northern Vietnam, an official said Thursday.
One worker escaped with burns after the fire erupted Wednesday night, and the bodies of six others who died of suffocation were pulled out Thursday morning, said Duong Quang Lai, director of the Uong Bi Coal Co. in Quang Ninh province.
Authorities on Thursday were still trying to put out the fire at the tunnel, which is between 30-105 meters (98-345 feet) deep, he said.
An investigation is underway.
The province is Vietnam's main coal-mining region. Dozens of workers have been killed in the past decade in mining accidents there.
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