Sixteen miners died and a further 77 were trapped and feared dead after an explosion at an illegally-operated coal mine in China's eastern Jiangsu province, state media and local officials said yesterday.
Sixteen bodies had been pulled out, but the fate of the remaining 77 miners was still unknown more than 24 hours after the accident, as rescue workers had not been able to dig through the collapsed mine to reach the victims. The explosion happened on Sunday when 106 miners were working inside the mine at Gangzi village, in Xuzhou city. Thirteen miners were rescued alive from the poorly constructed pit.
The mine was illegally reopened by the owner on July 15th after being shut down a month previously for safety reasons. Local officials said rescue workers were frantically trying to reach those stranded, pumping oxygen into the collapsed mine shaft while attempting to repair it so they could enter.
If all 93 trapped miners die, the accident will be the worst mining disaster in China this year and one of the worst in recent years. The owner of the mine, Mr Zhuang Jincai, a farmer from the same village, has been detained by police.
Last year nearly 5,000 miners died in accidents underground, according to official figures, although independent analysts estimate more than 10,000 miners die each year.