Death toll rises to 7 in China's coal mine blast

The death toll in a gas explosion in in a coal mine in central China's Hubei province rose to seven after two more bodies were recovered today.
The gas explosion that occurred on Monday in Xinjia Coal Mine in Badong County left seven workers dead, rescuers said, adding that four miners still remain trapped in the mine.
Yesterday, five bodies were retrieved by rescuers.
There were 46 miners working underground at the time of the incident, which took place on Monday. Sixteen people were at the coalface during the outburst. Five managed to escape straight after the outburst.
The legal representative of the mine is being held by police for investigation, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

This is the third major mine accident in recent days.
Last week, at least 53 people were killed after two separate explosions rocked coal mines in northern China.
Thirty-two people were killed following an explosion at a coalminein Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and 21 workers trapped in a coalminein China after an explosion on Novemeber 30 were confirmed dead.