At least 10 coal miners were trapped underground early Saturday
by an explosion in Jixi City, northeast China's Heilongjiang
Province, three miners who escaped said on Sunday.
The number of trapped miners is twice the figure provided by the
Heilongjiang provincial coal mine safety supervision authorities on
Saturday.
Liu Shanfu, 36, recalled that he and two other miners left the
shaft after work at around 5:00 am Saturday. They were 50 meters
from the mouth of the shaft when they heard the explosion
underground and saw black smoke rising from the opening.
The three rushed back but found the entrance to the shaft had
collapsed in the blast.
Liu said at least 10 miners were working underground when the
incident occurred. A Xinhua reporter has seen relatives of the 10
trapped miners and learned their names.
Previously, a source with the headquarters for rescue and
investigation into the accident said that they could not provide
the exact number of trapped miners the investigation was
ongoing.
The owner of the mine fled after the accident. The mine has no
state license to operate, according to the Heilongjiang provincial
coal mine safety supervision authorities.
Rescue work continued at press time and investigation into the
cause of the accident is under way.
(Xinhua News Agency April 12, 2004)