The death toll of Thursday night's coal mine explosion in
northwest China's Shaanxi
Province rose to 16 Sunday evening, rescuers said.
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The explosion took place at about 9:15 PM Thursday at Shangyukou
Colliery, a private coal mine in Hancheng, a city 360 km away from
provincial capital Xi'an, leaving 29 miners trapped
underground.
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Nine miners were rescued and four are still missing. Miners rescued
from the explosion have been hospitalized and are receiving "proper
treatment," said a member of the medical team.
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The mine, with an annual production capacity of 60,000 tons,
employs 60 miners.
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The legal representative of the mine, Guo Zongwen, is under
custody.
(Xinhua News Agency May 2, 2005)