Safety regulations at coal mines across the country must be tightened to prevent deadly accidents, a notice issued yesterday by the State Council's Work Safety Committee said.

The notice targeted the spike in coal production during the winter, when demand for coal soars because it is the most widely used resource for heating in the country.

China has seen a slump in accidents and fatalities related to small coal mines because of shutdowns of these mines ordered by the government, a brief by the committee said.

Coal mine accidents at towns fell 25 percent to 1,012 at the end of November from a year earlier, and related deaths dropped 27 percent to 1,597.

In China, small coal mines, mostly privately owned, have been blamed for a larger share of mine accidents than State-owned mining enterprises and have been accused of giving safety a back seat to profits.