All seven miners killed in coal mine accident in China

Beijing, Mar 15 (PTI) All the seven miners who were trapped since Monday in an underground warehouse of a coal mine in north China’s Shanxi Province were confirmed dead, local authorities said Friday.

The coal pile in the warehouse collapsed at midnight on Monday when miners were repairing a coal feeder, burying seven people, said Gao Naichun, head of the mine.

The last body was retrieved on Friday morning, marking the end of the rescue mission at the coal mine of the Taoyuan Xinlong coal industrial corporation in Zhongyang County, according to the county government.

The collapsed coal broke the water pipes under the warehouse and led to water outbursts, which hampered the rescue efforts, Gao said.

Further investigation is underway, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Coal mine accidents in China which has a high energy demand around the year are common causing a large number of casualties to the miners as they mostly operate in poor security conditions.