As of 8:00 PM Monday, 134 miners were confirmed dead in the
Heilongjiang coalmine blast, while 15 others are still missing,
rescuers said.
221 miners were working underground when the explosion occurred
at 9:40 PM Sunday at Dongfeng Coal Mine run by the Qitaihe branch
of the Longmei Mining (Group) Co., Ltd. in Heilongjiang Province,
according Zhang Chengxiang, director of the provincial coal mine
safety bureau.
A 380-member rescue team has been going all-out to search for
trapped miners.
Investigators said the coal-dust explosion disabled all
ventilation systems in the pit, but the main ventilation system
started working again on Monday morning.
?(Xinhua News Agency November 29, 2005)
