Rescuers retrieved on Monday the bodies of the other nine miners
who were missing in a coal mine gas blowout accident in central
China's
Hunan Province but the whereabouts of three others remained
unknown.
As of 9:30?PM Monday, the rescue operations were going on
with all-out efforts despite slim chances for the survival of the
missing miners, said the local government officials.
A gas blowout accident occurred around 17:00 Saturday at Dayuan
Coal Mine in Longhui County of Shaoyang City when 24 miners were
working underground in the shaft and only six miners managed to
escape.
The preliminary investigation showed that the accident was due
to violation of mining operation rules.
Officials from the State Administration of Work Safety arrived
at the accident site on Sunday to further investigate the cause of
the gas blowout.
(Xinhua News Agency February 28, 2006)
