The death toll rose to 26 at the flooded Fanjiashan Coalmine in
north China's Shanxi Province, with two more still missing
by Wednesday.
An official in charge of the rescue and search operation said
there was little possibility for the missing miners to return
alive, but the searching efforts would continue until their where
abouts were confirmed.
The flooding took place at 3:30?PM on March 18 at the coal
mine in Linxian of the province, when 58 miners were working
underground. Only 30 managed to escape.
The families of the dead will each get 200,000 yuan (US$24,660)
in compensation, a local government official said.
A special group arrived at the coal mine last Friday to
investigate the cause of the flooding.
(Xinhua News Agency March 29, 2006)
