CHINA / Regional |
Death toll in north China colliery gas blast rises to 41(Xinhua)Updated: 2006-11-15 16:50 TAIYUAN -- The death toll from a colliery blast in north China last week has risen to 41 with six others still missing, local government sources said on Wednesday. Rescuers found another body Wednesday morning in the Jiaojiazhai Colliery in Xinzhou, a city in the central northern area of Shanxi Province, according to a provincial coal mine work safety conference held on Wednesday. A gas explosion occurred at 11:45 a.m. on November 5. at the Jiaojiazhai Colliery, when 393 miners were working in the pit. Three hundred and forty-six escaped after the blast. Search and rescue efforts are continuing though rescuers believe the six missing miners have little chance of survival, given the high density of toxic gas and serious cave-ins following the blast. Also on Wednesday, one miner was confirmed dead following a colliery flood that trapped eight in northeast China's Liaoning Province. The accident, in which one miner is still missing and six were injured, occurred Tuesday at the privately-owned Dahenan Colliery in Huazi Township in Dengta, a city about 50 kilometers south of provincial capital Shenyang. Surging demand for winter coal has spurred production but also caused a string of deadly accidents. In the coal-rich Shanxi Province, two recent colliery accidents, including the Jiaojiazhai Colliery blast, have killed at least 67 people. |
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