China mine blast death toll reaches 107

BEIJING, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Chinese rescue teams Wednesday found one more body, raising to 107 the number of miners killed in a deadly mine blast five days ago, authorities said.

The fate of the last remaining miner trapped about 1,600 feet underground since the explosion last Saturday in northeast Heilongjiang province was not known but round-the-clock rescue efforts in freezing weather were continuing.

The gas explosion occurred at the Xinxing Coal Mine, a state-run subsidiary of the Heilongjiang Longmei Mining Holding Group, Xinhua news agency reported.

Of the 528 miners working at the time of the blast, 420 escaped.

Safety officials and investigators blamed poor management and inadequate safety precautions for the blast at the mine despite the facility being state-owned, Xinhua reported. The mine has an annual production capacity of 1.45 million tons.

Earlier reports said the mining company's monitoring room had received alerts of a sudden rise in underground gas levels 53 minutes before the explosion and orders were issued for all personnel to evacuate the facility. Among those who escaped, 29 had to be hospitalized.

The explosion was reportedly the deadliest mine accident since December 2007, when 105 miners died at a mine in the northern province of Shanxi.