Toll rises to 45 in Hebei coal mine blast
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-05-23 13:03

Rescuers said by Monday they had discovered 45 bodies at the site of a coal mine blast that occurred last Thursday in Chengde, north China's Hebei Province.

Only one miner was rescued from the explosion scene. Another five miners remain missing.

Sun Jisheng is the only one of the trapped miners who has been rescued. The former safety inspector, who was in a coma when he was brought to the ground on Saturday, woke up earlier Sunday but lost memory due to cerebral hypoxia for a long period of time, said doctors with the No. 266 Hospital of the PLA (People's Liberation Army) based in Chengde.

The explosion occurred at around 3:00 a.m. last Thursday when 85 miners were working underground at the Nuan'erhe Coal Mine. Thirty-four of them were lifted up to the ground, and 51 others were trapped.

An expert with the rescue headquarters said the five miners whoremained missing for the time being might be buried under the debris produced beneath the shaft and the hope of their return alive seemed slim.

Located at Nanzhangzi Village in Bajia Township, the coal mine used to be state-owned, but was auctioned to the Beijing Guodian Zhongneng Electric Fuel Investment Co., Ltd. for 65 million yuan (about 7.8 million US dollars) in December 2003.

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