Thirty people out of the 35 poisoned in an opencast mine gas outburst accident that killed 15 miners Saturday have been discharged from local hospitals in Fushun City, northeast China's Liaoning Province.

Another five injured are still hospitalized for further observation.

A then unidentified gas gushed out suddenly at an operation platform of the west open mine of the Fushun Coal Industry Group Corps. in Fushun city at 2:55 p.m. last Saturday, when 50 miners were working at a depth of 400 meters to the entrance of the mine,said Li Sen, an official of the company.

Preliminary investigation shows that the gases that broke out were a mixture of methane, nitrogen and a small deal of carbon dioxide gases. The mixed gases gushed out instantly and damaged the ventilation system at the shaft. The gas outburst suffocated 15 miners to death immediately and injured another 35 for oxygen deficiency, who managed to escape from the scene, Li said.

The injured were sent to the opencast mine's hospital and the general hospital of the coal industry group. They received medicaltreatment, including high-pressure oxygen cabin treatment, at the hospitals to dispel poisonous gases out of their bodies.

Sun Tiehua, a doctor from the opencast mine's hospital, said that the patients are slightly injured and generally speaking, they would not have sequelae of oxygen deficiency.

Source: Xinhua