Death toll in central China colliery gas blast rises to 35

ZHENGZHOU, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a coal mine gas explosion in central China's Henan Province Tuesday has climbed to 35 with 44 trapped underground, the local safety watchdog said.

Rescuers get ready at the Xinhua No. 4 coal mine in Xinhua District of Pingdingshan City, central China's Henan Province, on Sept. 8, 2009. A total of 93 people were working in the coal mine where a  gas explosion happened Tuesday morning, leaving at least 35 dead, according to local safety watchdog.(Xinhua/Zhao Peng)

The deadly gas blast took place around 1 a.m. Tuesday in the Xinhua No. 4 pit in Xinhua District of Pingdingshan City, said a spokesman with the Henan Provincial Bureau of Work Safety.

A total of 93 people were working in the pit when the accident happened, 14 of whom managed to escape.

City authorities have sent five teams of 70 rescuers to take part in the search and rescue operation.

The accident is arousing the attention of top leadership, including President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao. Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang arrived in Pingdingshan with a government delegation at 1:10 p.m. Tuesday.

Luo Lin, director of the State Administration of Work Safety, has also led a team to Pingdingshan to oversee rescue work and investigate the accident.

Ambulances, police wagons and engineering vehicles packed the colliery's compound Tuesday morning. At 11 a.m., at least 60 rescuers had taken turns to go down into the pit in search of victims.

"The first group of rescuers arrived at 2 a.m. and began to restore the underground ventilation system," said Zhang Jufeng, an official in charge of the city's coal mine industry bureau.