China: Rescuers give up all hope for trapped miners

BEIJING

Rescuers have given up hope of ever finding alive 19 miners trapped after an explosion struck a coal mine in China’s northeast.

State news agency Xinhua cited the rescue team as saying Friday that due to excessive levels of poisonous gases and high temperatures, there is no chance of finding the men alive.

A total of 52 miners were working underground in a shaft at the mine when the blast occurred at around 2.30 p.m. (0630GMT) Wednesday in northeast Heilongjiang province.

The ensuing blaze continued to burn for nearly a day, while frantic search and rescue efforts took place.

The incident came just weeks after more than 20 bodies were retrieved from a mineshaft in the province’s Jixi city.

China produces more than one-third of the world's annual coal output, but accounts for more than two-thirds of global mining deaths annually, Mining Technology reported last year.

In August, 13 people died after a gas explosion at a coal mine in southwestern Guizhou province, while in December 2014 a similar explosion in northeastern Heilongjiang left 10 miners dead.

Lax regulations and poor operating procedures make China’s mines the deadliest in the world.