Eleven people were killed and another person was still missing after a fire broke out underground at an illegal mine in northeast China's Liaoning Province this week, local officials said today.
The mine in Xihu District, Benxi City caught fire on Monday morning, trapping 13 miners about 500 meters underground.
Rescuers found two bodies in the shaft yesterday. Nine more bodies were found today. One miner was rescued, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Rescuers are still looking for another trapped miner, according to the city's work safety bureau.
Hao Chijun, head of the bureau, said the colliery was shut down in 2004, but its owner secretly continued operations by building a coal washing plant and hiding the shaft within it.
Hao said a normal mine shaft should have at least two openings, one for miners and the other for coal, which can also ensure ventilation, but the illegal mine only had one.
