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10 confirmed dead in SW China colliery gas leak

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-11-28 13:28

GUIZHOU: Ten workers were confirmed dead in a coal mine gas burst in southwest China's Guizhou province, as the body of a missing worker was retrieved, local authorities said Saturday.

Related readings:  9 dead, 1 missing in SW China colliery gas leak  Coal mine flood traps 17 miners in NE China  Death toll from NE. China mine explosion hits 108

The body was recovered in the shaft late Friday, said a spokesman with the Guizhou Provincial Work Safety Bureau.

The accident occurred at 11:23 pm Thursday at Zhenxing Coal Mine in Xingren County when 172 workers were working underground, the spokesman said.

Nine bodies were retrieved and one worker reported missing as of 10 a.m. Friday, he said.

A total of 162 workers managed to escaped. Three of them were injured by the flying debris, and were being treated at a county hospital.

Zhenxing Coal Mine, in the resource-rich Xingren County of the Qianxinan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, has an annual output of 600,000 tonnes.