Sixty miners were confirmed dead in the Coalmine explosion in northern Shanxi Province as one more bodies was found in the Xishui Colliery on Saturday evening, according to the rescue headquarters at the site.

Rescuers told Xinhua they have found bodies of all 19 trapped miners in the Kangjiayao Coalmine, and 41 others were discovered in Xishui Coalmine.

Eight rescue teams are searching for mine miners still trapped underground, according to sources with the rescue headquarters.

The powerful blast ripped through the Xishui Coalmine at Saturday noon in Shuozhou, a city in a major coal-mining area in Shanxi province, and immediately caused a wall to collapse in the neighboring Kangjiayao Coalmine.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have demanded relevant departments try their best to save the trapped and instructed rescuers to pay attention to their own safety. They also mentioned to offer appropriate comfort for victims' families.

Li Yizhong, director of the General Administration of Work Safety (GAWS), and Zhao Tiechui, director of the State Administration of Coalmine Safety under the GAWS, have arrived at Shuozhou earlier Sunday morning to direct the rescue operation.

Built in 1993, Xishui Coalmine is licensed with an annual output of 150,000 tons of coal. But the mine was ordered to suspend production after safety problems last November, according to the provincial supervision office of coalmine production.

"In defiance of the order, however, mine owners have restarted production this year," said an official with the office.

The other coalmine, Kangjiayao, that fell the victim of Saturday's explosion, is a normal mine with governmental approval for production.

 

 

 

 

(Xinhua News Agency March 21, 2005)