Number of trapped miners reduced to 166

By 6 p.m. on Sunday, 127 miners were rescued alive after a major gas explosion took place at the Chenjiashan Coalmine, Shaanxi Province, around 7:10 a.m. but another 166 remained trapped underground.

This was learned from the control center of the State Bureau ofProduction Safety.

Out of the 127 miners rescued, 41 are hospitalized, including five who were seriously injured, according to the sources.

Zhao Tiechui, deputy head of the bureau, who led a delegation and arrived in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi, earlier in the day, was on his way to the site of the accident.

According to earlier reports, the Chenjiashan Coalmine is a state-owned venture under the jurisdiction of the Tongchuan Mining Administration capable of producing 1.3 million tons of coal a year.

There were 293 miners working underground when the gas explosion happened at coalpits some 8,000 meters away from the ground entrance.

Those who escaped the gas explosion were mainly workers workingnear the entrance. Some of them suffered from poisoning of carbon monoxide

Main provincial Party and government leaders, including Li Jianguo, secretary of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and Chen Deming, acting governor of Shaanxi, have all rushed to the site of the accident to organize the rescue operation.

Cause of the accident is under investigation.

Source: Xinhua