China Mine Death Toll Reaches 87

HEGANG, China—The death toll from China's latest coal mine disaster reached 87 as hopes dimmed on Sunday that more survivors would be found a day after a gas blast at a colliery in the country's icy far northeast.

The state Xinhua news agency reported 528 workers were in the mine, at Hegang in Heilongjiang province, at the time of the blast, and 420 had been rescued by Sunday.

Some 21 miners remained trapped or unaccounted for, Zhang Jinguang, a spokesman for the mine company, told reporters, who were taken by officials to see 20 or so rescue workers descending down a tunnel still belching smoke.

Zhang Fucheng, an official in charge of rescue efforts, told Chinese television that efforts were being impeded by dense gas and collapsed tunnels. Temperatures were near freezing.
World's deadliest coal mining industry

This was the latest accident to hit the world's deadliest major coal mining industry. The blast was so violent it shook the surrounding area and nearby buildings partly collapsed.

Some of the survivors were badly injured.

"When I saw my husband, this mess of blood and flesh, I didn't recognize him at first," said Huang Guizhen, the wife of injured miner Qu Zhongliang, a Heilongjiang province news website (www.northeast.com.cn) reported. "Then the doctor told me it was my husband and I burst into tears."

Compared to other manual jobs, Chinese coal miners can earn relatively high wages, tempting workers and farmers into rickety and poorly ventilated shafts.

Safety staff knew gas in the mine had reached dangerous levels and were rushing to clear it when the blast erupted 500 meters below ground, the website report also said.

The Xinxing mine in Hegang lies near China's border with Russia and produced over a million tonnes of coal in the first 10 months of this year, the report said. It is owned by the Heilongjiang Longmei Mining Holding Group, making it larger than most operations where colliery accidents occur.