Though the rate of coal mine accidents in China has declined over the past decade, more coal mines will be shuttered, a senior work safety official said on Thursday.

The number of work safety accidents declined from 800,000 in 2004 to 300,000 in 2013, as has the number of deaths, from 136,700 to 69,000 over the same period, Yang Dongliang, minister of the State Administration of Work Safety, said at a news conference held by the State Council Information Office on Thursday. 

The death rate per 1 million metric tons of coal has also dropped, from 3.08 to 0.288, a decline of 90 percent.