Eleven miners were rescued from the collapsed gypsum mine in
Hebei Province early Tuesday morning, and rescuers are trying to
lift three others who were found alive out of the mine.
"We are still searching for the six who are trapped somewhere
underground," said a rescuer.
The accident occurred at around 7:40 PM Sunday at a gypsum mine
in Shangwang Village in Xingtai City. Two nearby gypsum mines and
residential homes were also affected.
The accident has left 27 dead. Thirty-two others have been
hospitalized.
Investigations into the cause of the accident are underway.
In another development, violation of safety rules was named as
the likely cause of Sunday's deadly colliery gas blast that killed
16 persons in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, according to investigators
on Tuesday.
The accident happened while 25 people were working underground.
Nine of them managed to escape.
The city government has ordered a suspension of operations in
all 84 coalmines and 319 mine shafts in the city for rectification
and repair work.
(Xinhua News Agency November 8, 2005)