BEIJING - Police detained a northwestern China mine owner Sunday after 28 workers died in his colliery following a pit fire, the latest in a series of deadly mining accidents, state press said.

All 28 miners were killed in the colliery in Shaanxi province after electrical cables caught fire late Saturday night at the Xiaonangou coal mine in Hancheng city, Xinhua news agency said.

Police did not name the mine owner, the report added, or provide further information on the colliery.

Local authorities have launched an investigation into the accident and ordered province-wide safety inspections.

As of early Sunday, five bodies had been brought out of the mine, while arrangements were being made to bring up the other victims.

China`s vast coal mining industry is notoriously accident-prone due to lax regulation, corruption and inefficiency as mines rush to meet soaring demand.

China relies on coal-generated power for about 70 of its electricity needs.

A total of 2,631 miners were killed in China last year, according to official figures, but independent labour groups say the actual figure could be much higher as many accidents are covered up to avoid costly mine shutdowns.

In another accident Saturday, eight coal miners were killed in a blaze in a pit in neighbouring Henan province, Xinhua said in a separate report.

On June 21, an explosion killed 47 coal miners at a privately-owned mine in Henan`s Pingdingshan city when a store of gunpowder kept underground detonated, state press reports said.

A police investigation found that the mine was operating illegally as its mining license had expired in early June, they said.

In March, a flood at the huge, unfinished Wangjialing mine in the industry`s northern heartland of Shanxi left 153 workers trapped underground. A total of 115 were recovered alive, in what was seen as a rare successful rescue.

Yet despite numerous pledges after that accident and other big mining disasters, there is virtually no let-up in the regular reports of deadly mishaps.

Zhao Tiechui, head of the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety, said in February that China would need at least 10 years to "fundamentally improve" safety and reduce the frequency of such disasters.

As part of efforts to increase safety standards, the central government has levied heavy fines and implemented region-wide mining shut-downs following serious accidents.

BDST: 1208 HRS, 18 July 2010