BEIJING (AFP) - RESCUERS have recovered the body of the last victim a gas explosion in a southwestern China coal mine, bringing the death toll to 10, state-run media reported on Saturday.

The accident happened late on Thursday at the Zhenxing coal mine in Guizhou province, Xinhua news agency reported, the latest deadly accident to strike the country's notoriously dangerous mining sector.

A government official said 172 workers were underground when the explosion happened, Xinhua reported. Three workers were injured by flying debris and were being treated in a local hospital, it said.

Last Saturday, 108 miners were killed in a gas explosion at a coal mine in Heilongjiang province in northeastern China, reigniting concerns about safety standards in the nation's coal mines.

China's coal mines are among the most dangerous in the world, with safety often ignored in the quest for profits and the drive to meet surging demand for coal - the source of about 70 per cent of China's energy.

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