An explosion killed 16 people on Sunday in a small coal mine in east China's Jiangsu Province. A total of 106 miners were stranded.
The explosion occurred on Sunday morning in Gangzi Village near the city of Xuzhou. The local government immediately organized a rescue operation. As of Monday morning, only 16 bodies had been recovered. Thirteen miners, including 3 women, have been rescued, but the rest are still missing. The rescue work is still going on.
It is learned that the coal mine, which did not possess production conditions, was in illegal operation. The Xuzhou City and Jiawang District governments banned the operation of the coal mine on June 15.
However, the coal contractor made bold to resume production on July 15. The contractor has been detained.
Cause of the explosion is still under investigation.
(China Central TV 07/23/2001)
