All the six miners trapped since Tuesday were confirmed dead,
rescuers said early Saturday as they wrapped up search and rescue
operation in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.
Investigators are still in the pit hoping to pinpoint the cause
of a flood that hit Fusheng Mine in Boli county in the city of
Qitaihe at 6:40?PM Tuesday, the local coal mine safety
watchdog said.
Eleven miners were in the pit. One of them managed to escape on
his own shortly after the flood and four others were rescued the
next day.
Rescuers had kept searching for the missing until all six bodies
were found Friday night.
Fusheng Mine is privately-owned and designed to produce 60,000
tons a year.
China's coal mines suffer frequent flooding, explosions and
cave-ins largely due to lax safety management, killing around 6,000
people each year.
Qitaihe city is known for one of the deadliest coal mine
accidents in recent years: a gas blast killed 171 miners in
November 2005. The tragedy caused 42.9 million yuan (about US$5.36
million) in direct economic loss.
(Xinhua News Agency December 16, 2006)