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All the seven miners trapped in a coal mine flooding in northeast China's province of Jilin were confirmed dead, local sources said Wednesday.
The miners had been stuck in Shunfa coal mine in Tonghua city when water leakage flooded the mine on the morning of March 29. Among them was its chief, Shao Changjun, 45, who was inspecting work when water leaked in.
Rescuers had set up 11 pumps to drain water from the mine and cleared out nearly one meter thick of silt to search for the victims, and found all the seven bodies by Tuesday.
The Shunfa coal mine is a small privately-owned business with 30 employees and reports an annual output of 30,000 tons.
In the wake of the accident, the Jilin provincial government held an emergency meeting on production safety, and warned all mines with potential risks for fatal accidents, such as flooding and cave-ins, to halt production. The government has also started a thorough inspection to all mines in the province.
Between Jan. 1 and April 4 this year, Jilin reported 30 coal mine accidents that claimed 48 lives, a rise of 36.4 percent and 60 percent respectively over last year's figures.
(Xinhua News Agency April 7, 2004)
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