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Death toll rises to 19 in N China mine flooding

Xinhua, April 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

Nineteen people were confirmed dead as of 10 a.m. Wednesday at a flooded coal mine in the northern province of Shanxi, according to the nation's work safety regulator.

Rescuers have retrieved 19 bodies and are racing against time to rescue the remaining 2 miners trapped underground.

A total of 247 people were working in Jiangjiawan mine in Datong city when the accident occurred at around 6:50 p.m. on Sunday. Two hundred and twenty-three miners made it out safely, while 24 were trapped.

As of Tuesday afternoon, about 6,100 cubic meters of water had been pumped out from the shaft.

The coal mine, owned by Datong Coal Mine Group, has an annual production capacity of 900,000 tonnes.

The group has ordered all its small mines, many of which were previously privately owned, to suspend production for safety checks. Endi