Rescuers recovered the bodies of 70 workers last night following a coal mine gas blast in Shanxi Province the previous night.
As of 6 pm Thursday evening, at least 26 miners were still trapped underground in the village-run Xinyao pit in Hongtong county of Linfen, according to the rescue team.
Illegal mining and delays reporting the accident are blamed for the high toll.
The rescue office said the accident happened at 11:15 pm on Wednesday, but the local authorities were not told until 5 am yesterday.
The office said it believes the colliery managers delayed reporting the accident as they were trying to conduct the rescue operation themselves – delaying proper rescue procedures and leading to the high casualty figure.
Last night investigators identified the victims and tried to determine the cause of the tragedy.
A total of 15 workers were rescued or managed to escape on their own, said sources with the coal mine safety bureau in Linfen, a coal-rich city 400 km south of Taiyuan, the provincial capital. The miners were said to be in good health.
Police detained Wang Hongliang, the legal representative of the mine, and Gao Jianmin, the head. The mine's bank accounts have also been frozen.
Li Yizhong, head of the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety, and Zhang Baoshun, Party secretary of the Shanxi provincial committee, are at the disaster site.
According to initial investigations, the accident was caused by illegal mining in an unauthorized No 9 coal seam.
However, the Xinyao pit, owned by Ruizhiyuan Mining Co, is fully licensed and designed to produce 210,000 tons of coal annually.
"We should learn lessons from the disaster, such as banning any illegal mining activity and over-staffing; reporting accidents immediately; and not rushing blindly into rescue efforts," Li said.
Linfen has suspended operations in all coal mines under its jurisdiction.
The central government has been trying to tighten safety regulations after colliery accidents claimed close to 5,000 lives last year.
Many of the accidents are blamed on mine owners who disregard safety rules or fail to invest in proper ventilation and equipment.
Last month, officials warned coal mines to pay special attention to safety as they ramp up production to meet winter heating and power demand.
（英语点津 Celene 编辑）
About the broadcaster:
Bernice Chan is a foreign expert at China Daily Website. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Bernice has written for newspapers and magazines in Hong Kong and most recently worked as a broadcaster for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, producing current affairs shows and documentaries.
