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Coal mine blast kills ten in SW China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-05-15 20:01

KUNMING -- Rescuers Friday recovered the bodies of 10 miners who were killed in a coal mine gas explosion earlier in the day in southwest China's Yunnan Province, according to the emergency rescue headquarters.

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The gas blast happened around 5:50 a.m. at Chashan Coal Mine in Zhenxiong County, in the city of Zhaotong, while 13 miners were working underground, said the headquarters.

Three were rescued and hospitalized for injuries. Their injuries are not life-threatening, according the headquarters.

The police are investigating the cause of the explosion. Both Wu Jinggang, the legal representative of the coal mine, and Hu Xianming, chief of the coal mine, were placed under police surveillance.

Zhenxiong County is a remote area in the northeast part of Yunnan, and is more than a five-hour bus ride from Kunming, the provincial capital.

Chashan Coal Mine is a licensed private venture. With an approved annual production capacity of 30,000 tonnes, the coal mine is said to produce 60,000 tonnes of coal last year.