Death toll from northeast China colliery explosion rises to 92

Rescuers get ready to go down into the pit to search for survivors at the  site of the accident at the Xinxing Coal Mine in Hegang City, northeast  China's Heilongjiang Province, on Nov. 22, 2009. The underground  ventilation system has been restored and 90% of the underground working  face has been searched. A total of 87 bodies of miners were found as of  12 a.m. Sunday, and another 21 are still trapped in the shaft, said local  authorities. (Xinhua/Wang Song)

HEGANG, Heilongjiang, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Death toll from the deadly coal mine blast in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province has risen to 92, said local authorities Sunday night.

Another 16 are still trapped in the shaft.

The blast happened at around 2:30 a.m. Saturday at the Xinxing Coal Mine under the state-owned Heilongjiang Longmei Mining Holding Group's subsidiary in Hegang City. A total of 528 miners were working underground when the blast happened.

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