As at 9:00 AM Wednesday, the death toll from the coalmine blast
in northeast China was confirmed at 150.?
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Rescuers are still searching for one miner believed to trapped
underground.
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According to rescuers, the dead include 148 miners and two female
workers who were found dead in the ground generator room on Tuesday
afternoon.
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221 miners were working underground when the explosion occurred at
9:40 PM Sunday at the Dongfeng Coal Mine run by the Qitaihe branch
of the Longmei Mining (Group) Co. Ltd. in Heilongjiang
Province.
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72 miners were rescued, 47 of whom are suffering from gas
poisoning, according to Shi Guicheng, deputy president of the
General Hospital of the Qimei Group.
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"Many of the injured are recovering after treatment in a hyperbaric
oxygen chamber," said Shi, who added some miners were also
suffering from post-traumatic stress.
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Only one miner suffered head injuries and he was also treated for
gas poisoning, Shi said.
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Shi said four more medical specialists are scheduled to join the
three medical experts at the hospital who are treating the injured
miners.
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Body identification and compensation work started on Tuesday.
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A spokesman of the Longmei Mining (Group) Co., Ltd. said the
relatives of every dead miner will receive 200,000 to 220,000 yuan
(US$24,660-27,100) in compensation.
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As at 9:00 PM Tuesday, the relatives of more than 20 dead miners
signed the compensation agreement.
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Li Yizhong, head of the National Bureau of Production Safety
Supervision Administration, and major senior officials of the
province are organizing the rescue operation at the accident
site.
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The Heilongjiang provincial government held an emergency videophone
conference on Monday afternoon ordering safety checks on all mines
in the province.
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Mines which do not meet production safety criteria will be
immediately closed down.
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(Xinhua News Agency November 30, 2005)