(Writes through to add details, separate accident)

BEIJING, April 17 (Reuters) - Two separate coal mine accidents in China have trapped 45 workers underground, Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday, chronicling the latest tragedies to hit the world's deadliest coal mining industry.

Nine of 42 miners escaped after an explosion late on Monday at the private Wangzhuang colliery in Baofeng county in the central province of Henan, Xinhua said.

The condition of the remaining 33 was "unclear", the official news agency said. "Rescuers are trying to inject inert gas to put out the fire."

The mine owner fled after the accident, making it difficult for experts to map out rescue plans without accurate geological data about the colliery, which has poor ventilation systems and high gas levels, Xinhua said.

"Police have frozen the owner's bank accounts and have been doing the utmost to track him down."

Also on Monday, a pit flooded in Zhuzhou city in the southern province of Hunan, trapping 12 coal miners, Xinhua said. It added that rainy weather had hampered water pumping efforts.

A total of 4,746 Chinese coal miners were killed in thousands of gas blasts, floods and other accidents in 2006 as mine owners pushed production beyond safety limits to meet robust demand and increase profits.

Another 661 were killed in the first three months of this year, down 15.6 percent from a year earlier, but there was a succession of cover-ups of fatal accidents in March, state media said, blaming mine owners and local officials.

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