Officials in northwest China's Shaanxi
Province have confirmed 15 deaths in the coal mine blast that
took place there Tuesday afternoon.
The explosion occurred at 4:50 PM in the state-owned No. 1 coal
mine of the Huangling Mining Co. as an estimated 85 miners were
working under ground. Reports indicate that 65 miners were rescued,
including five injured who are now hospitalized. Seven miners
remain missing.
The 15 dead include two rescue workers, according to the
provincial bureau responsible for overseeing safe mining
operations.
A task force has been set up to search for the missing miners
and to deal with the aftermath of the accident.
The Huangling Mining's No. 1 coal mine has an annual production
capacity of 6 million tons. It went into operation in 2001.
(Xinhua News Agency June 16, 2004)