China Coal Mine Gas Leak Toll Rises to 35

Guiyang, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) – Rescue work ended early on Sunday after the last two missing miners were found dead at a colliery in southwest China’s Guizhou Province, where a gas leak killed 35 last Thursday.

The last two dead bodies were retrieved at 2:30 a.m. and 3:24 a.m. respectively on Sunday, said sources with the emergency rescue headquarters at Qunli Colliery in Nayong County.

Eighty-six miners were working in the shaft when the gas leak occurred at 1:44 p.m. on Thursday. Of them, 52 were rescued, but one of them died after emergency treatment.

Management of the mine has agreed to compensate 200,000 yuan (26,667 US dollars) for each victim.

The central government will send an investigation team to look into the cause of the accident.

Qunli is a licensed colliery designed to produce 300,000 tons of coal a year.

Following the accident, the provincial authorities ordered all coal mines in the county to suspend production for a safety overhaul.

Originally published by Xinhua news agency, Beijing, in English 0154 11 Nov 07.

(c) 2007 BBC Monitoring Newsfile. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.