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26 miners confirmed dead in China colliery gas explosion

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-08-22 17:23

FAKU - Chinese rescuers on Friday recovered the last four bodies of miners killed in a gas blast at a coal mine in northeast China, bringing the death toll to 26.

Eighty-one miners were working underground when the accident happened at about 8:50 a.m. on Monday in Baijiagou colliery in Liaoning Province, said Sun Shikui, head of the general hospital affiliated to the Tiefa coal industry group.

Eleven miners were injured in the accident, four of them were severely injured.

Family members of the 20 dead miners, whose bodies were already cremated, signed their named on the compensation agreements with the coal mine. The mine promised that each family will receive a minimum of 200,000 yuan (about US$28,600) as compensation.

The mine was opened in 1976. It was fully-licensed and has 450 employees. The mine produces 100,000 tons of coal a year.