Thirty-five miners were Saturday confirmed killed in the coal
mine blast which occurred Friday morning in Xixian County, Shanxi
Province, and one miner was still missing.
Two miners were strapped underground Friday night, but one of
them was confirmed dead by 9:00 Saturday morning.
Fire brigades from cities of Linfen and Xiaoyi and the Fenxi
Mining Company are still working at the collapsed mines to search
for the only miner trapped.
There were 49 miners working underground when the gas explosion
occurred around 7:40 a.m. at the Liangjiahe Coal Mine in Xixian
County, and 13 miners have been saved from the mine located in the
outlying mountainous areas.
Zhang Baoshun, governor of Shanxi Province, is now at the coal
mine directing the rescue efforts. Production at all coal mines in
Linfen had been halted for investigation for possible safety
loopholes, Xinhua has learned.
(Xinhua News Agency May 1, 2004)