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Colliery gas burst accident kills 25 in Chongqing

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-05-30 20:01

CHONGQING - Twenty-five miners were confirmed dead and another 20 remained underground following a colliery gas burst Saturday in southwestern China's Chongqing Municipality, according to local coal mine supervision authorities.

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The accident happened around 11 am at Tonghua Coal Mine in Anwen Town of Qijiang County, when 131 miners were working underground. Eighty-six workers escaped.

By 1 pm, the bodies of 25 dead miners had been retrieved.

No information about the 20 remaining underground is available, as rescuers have not yet been able to reach them because of the dangerous level of gas density.

Rescue work is ongoing and the cause of the accident is being investigated.

The Tonghua Coal Mine, with a history of more than 50 years, is affiliated to the state-owned Songzao Mining Bureau of Chongqing. The colliery's designed production capacity is 300,000 tonnes per year, which now has been expanded to 600,000 tonnes.