China, April 09: The death toll from a massive flood at a Chinese coal mine rose to 25 on Friday, state media reported, as rescue efforts pressed on despite fading hopes of finding any more survivors.
Thirteen people were still missing underground at the huge unfinished Wangjialing mine in the northern province of Shanxi, 12 days after it was flooded in yet another accident in China’s dangerous mining sector.
The flood left 153 trapped underground, but in what officials dubbed a “miracle,” 115 were rescued alive on Monday in a rare piece of good news for an industry plagued by a notoriously poor safety record.
Rescuers have narrowed their search down to two sections of the mine, but conditions underground have become more and more dangerous, officials say, with risks of gas explosions and further water leaks.
—Agencies