Thu, May 20, 2010
YUXIAN, Shanxi, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a coal mine gas explosion in north China's Shanxi Province rose to 11 Thursday after the body of the last missing miner was recovered.
The body was retrieved around 12:30 a.m. from the shaft of the Chentong Coal Industry mine in Yuxian County, said Liu Xianyun, deputy director of the work safety committee in Yangquan City, which administers Yuxian County.
The accident occurred at around 4:50 p.m. Tuesday when 41 miners were working in the shaft. Twenty-seven people escaped unhurt while 14 were trapped underground.
Three of the trapped were rescued. The other 11 trapped miners have all now been confirmed dead.
The mining company was licensed and has an annual production capacity of 600,000 tonnes.
Work safety authorities are investigating the cause of the accident.
