Fifty-nine bodies have been found after a deadly coalmine blast in north China's Shanxi Province by 5:00 PM Sunday.

  

Rescuers are searching for ten miners still trapped underground, according to sources with the rescue headquarters.

  

The blast occurred at Saturday noon at the Xishui Coalmine in Shuozhou and rocked the nearby Kangjiayao Coalmine. 

      

Built in 1993, Xishui Coalmine is licensed with an annual output of 150,000 tons of coal. But the mine was ordered to suspend production after safety problems last November, said an official with the provincial supervision office of coal mine production.

 

"In defiance of the order, however, mine owners have restarted production this year," said the official.

 

The other coalmine, Kangjiayao, that fell the victim of Saturday's explosion, is a normal mine with governmental approval for production.

 

Zhang Baoshun, governor of Shanxi, arrived at the scene to direct rescue and investigation work.

 

The provincial government has ordered the suspension of production in mines that fail to meet safety measures.

 

Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have demanded relevant departments try their best to save the trapped and instructed rescuers to pay attention to their own safety. They also mentioned to offer appropriate comfort for victims' families.

  

Li Yizhong, director of the General Administration of Work Safety (GAWS), and Zhao Tiechui, director of the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety under the GAWS, have arrived at Shuozhou earlier Sunday morning to direct the rescue operation.

 

 

 

(Xinhua News Agency March 20, 2005)