Nine people were confirmed dead while six others are still missing in a coalmine fire that broke out on Sunday morning in Shuangyashan City, Heilongjiang Province, local government sources said Monday morning.
Rescuers discovered the remains of the nine dead miners in the fire-ravaged shaft at around 9:00 AM Monday morning, and are still searching for the six missing miners.
The Jinyuan Coal Mine in Baoshan District caught fire at about 10:00 AM Sunday when 15 miners were working underground.
Preliminary investigations found that the fire was caused by burnt cables.
In southwest China's Guizhou Province, three of the 13 miners who were trapped in a flooded coalmine on Saturday were rescued on Monday morning, local government sources said.
Rescuers also recovered the bodies of six miners and are searching for the four who are still missing, said sources with the provincial administration of workplace safety supervision.
The accident took place in the Dahao Coal Mine, in Fengcheng Township of Tianzhu County, at about 1:40 PM Saturday when 39 miners were working underground. Twenty-six miners managed to escape, but 13 others were trapped.
(Xinhua News Agency September 12, 2005)
