Two coal mine accidents in China within a span of 24 hours have led to a death toll of 12, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

The first incident occurred in an underground coal bunker in Zhongyang County, Shanxi province, which collapsed, resulting in five deaths as well as two individuals missing.

The bunker is operated by Taoyuan Xinlong Coal Industry.

The accident in Shanxi follows a notice issued last month by the mining safety regulator, which instructed mines to limit overproduction to avoid such incidents.

Despite these measures, China's leading coal-producing region has seen an increase in mining fatalities in 2023.

In a separate event, a gas explosion at Huaihe Energy's coal mine in Anhui province, eastern China, has claimed the lives of seven people, with two more unaccounted for.

A series of fatal accidents in the past year prompted China's mine safety administration to overhaul an existing law, which an official acknowledged had "prominent problems".

In January 2024, the city of Pingdingshan in central China witnessed a coal mining disaster that resulted in at least ten deaths.

Last year, in August, 11 people died as the result of a coal mine explosion in China’s Shaanxi province, while in February 2023, a coal mine collapse in the northern Inner Mongolia region of China killed more than 50 people.