Rescue workers have found one miner alive and confirmed 16 dead after an explosion on Monday morning at a colliery in Qitaihe City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.
Information from rescue headquarters said the blast occurred at about 11:00 AM at the Xinfu Coal Mine of the Qitaihe Coal Industry Clean Coal Group, trapping 19 people underground.
There are still two miners missing, and the rescue operation continues, as does the investigation into the cause of the explosion.
Another six miners are still trapped after a sudden mudslide in Ningxiang County in the central province of Hunan. The accident occurred at about 5:00 PM on Sunday at Yaozishan Coal Mine.
Also on Sunday, a bridge collapse killed four people and injured four others in central China's Henan Province, according to local police on Monday.
The tragedy occurred in Fugou County during repairs to the five-arch bridge, which had fell into disrepair. Three died at the scene and one later in hospital.
(Xinhua News Agency March 15, 2005)
