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Coal mine blast kills 11 in central China
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-11-23 13:36

CHENXI, Hunan: The death toll from Sunday's colliery blast in central China's Hunan Province has risen to 11 and three people are still missing, the local government confirmed Monday.

Rescue work was continuing Monday at Guojiawan Coal Mine in Chenxi County, in the city of Huaihua, a county government spokesman said.

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Altogether 33 people were working in the pit when the blast occurred at around 10 am Sunday, and 15 escaped, he said.

Rescuers saved five people, but one of them died in hospital late Sunday.

Ten bodies had been recovered as of 8 am Monday.

Guojiawan, a village-run colliery, was founded in 1995 with a designed annual output of 30,000 tonnes.

Another fatal mine disaster, in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, had claimed 104 lives as of Monday morning and another four remained trapped in the shaft.

The blast happened at around 2:30 am Saturday at the Xinxing Coal Mine under the state-owned Heilongjiang Longmei Mining Holding Group's subsidiary in Hegang City. A total of 528 miners were working underground when the blast happened.