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Death toll rises to 26 in Henan coal mine gas blast

THE death toll due to a gas explosion last night in a coal mine in central China's Henan Province has risen to 26, local rescue headquarters said today.

A total of 46 miners were working underground when the blast occurred at 7:40 pm in the Juyuan Coal Mine, also known as Suzhuang Coal Mine, in Mianchi County, Sanmenxia City, about 300 km from the provincial capital of Zhengzhou, said sources from Yi Ma Coal Industry Group, the ill-fated mine's newly found parent company.

Twenty of the miners were lifted to safety. Rescue work has ended.

Rescuers vented toxic gases from the mine before they identify the locations of the missing miners.

The mine, capable of producing 150,000 tons of coal a year, is under reform and industry re-grouping. After being taken over by Yi Ma Coal Industry Group, a state-owned conglomerate, Yi Ma cast away the mine's old name and renamed it as "Juyuan Coal Mine".

Juyuan mine was supposed to eliminate safety hazards before it resumed operation.

Yi Ma Coal Industry Group sent a supervisor to a safety training course 200 km away in Jiaozuo City on the day of the accident.

The mine owner ordered miners to work down the mine, said a spokesman for the group.

An accurate death toll was not immediately known because the mine owner fled after the accident and the management of the mine was chaotic, said a spokesman for the group.

The police are investigating the accident and attempting to locate the mine owner.

Yi Ma Coal Industry Group has coal mines in five provinces and regions across the country and employs 50,000 workers. The Group is valued at 15.7 billion yuan, according to its website.



 

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