Rescue efforts are continuing after firefighters extinguished a blaze in a coal mine in Shandong province, where 28 miners remain trapped.

The mine is located in Xuecheng district in Zaozhuang City. Several dozen rescue workers have been sent down the coal mine, while ambulances and medical teams wait at the surface. 91 people were in the mine when an air compression device at a parking lot 255 meters underground caught fire on Wednesday. As of Thursday, 63 have been rescued. The area where the remaining miners are trapped has been located, but is still covered in thick smoke.

The State Grid has arrived with equipment to ensure power supplies for the coal mine. Dangerous levels of carbon monoxide has prevented rescuers from going deep into the mine. An investigation into the cause of the fire has been launched. The licensed coal mine had completed a technical revamp in June 2010 to expand production to 150,000 tons a year. It passed an inspection in October last year.

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