Rescuers on Thursday morning found remains of five more miners killed in a coal mine gas blast last Saturday in Shuozhou, north China's Shanxi Province, bringing the death toll of the coal mine tragedy to 70.

Information from the headquarters in charge of the rescue operation for the March 19 coal mine gas blast said that all of the dead bodies of the five miners were discovered beneath the shaft with Xishui Coalpit of Shuozhou, where a gas blast occurred at 12:15 a.m. last Saturday and tore through the neighboring Kangjiayao coal mine, trapping 71 miners.

By press time, one more miner remains missing beneath the Kangjiayao coal mine, a legal coal production entity, said the information.

However, early reports said 69 coal miners were trapped in the coal mine gas blast last Saturday.

Built in 1993, the Xishui Coal Mine is capable of producing 150,000 tons of coal annually. It was ordered to suspend production for safety concern last November.

Source: Xinhua