China mine explosion death toll reaches 87

HEGANG, China (Reuters) - The death toll from China's latest coal mine disaster reached 87 as hopes dimmed on Sunday that more survivors would be found a day after a gas blast at a colliery in the country's icy far northeast.

Xinhua news agency reported 528 workers were in the mine, at Hegang in Heilongjiang province, at the time of the blast, and 420 had been rescued by Sunday.

Some 21 miners remained trapped or unaccounted for, Zhang Jinguang, a spokesman for the mine company, told reporters, who were taken by officials to see 20 or so rescue workers descending into a tunnel still belching smoke. By later on Sunday, none of the 21 had been found, Xinhua reported.

Zhang Fucheng, an official in charge of rescue efforts, told Chinese television that efforts were held up by dense gas and collapsed tunnels. Temperatures were near freezing.

The blast was the latest accident to hit the world's deadliest major coal mining industry. The explosion was so violent it shook the surrounding area and nearby buildings partly collapsed.

Some of the survivors were badly injured.

"When I saw my husband, this mess of blood and flesh, I didn't recognize him at first," said Huang Guizhen, the wife of injured miner Qu Zhongliang, a Heilongjiang province news website (www.northeast.com.cn) reported.

"Then the doctor told me it was my husband and I burst into tears."

Compared to other manual jobs, Chinese coal miners can earn relatively high wages, tempting workers and farmers into rickety and poorly ventilated shafts.

Safety staff knew gas in the mine had reached dangerous levels and were rushing to evacuate the miners when the blast erupted 500 meters (1,500 feet) below ground, the website report also said, citing workers at the mine.

Central government prosecutors went to Hegang to oversee investigations into any possible crimes or official misconduct behind the blast, the China News Service reported.Zhang Jinguang, the mine spokesman, told Reuters that "as far as I know, there were no signs (of the accident beforehand)."Police in Hegang kept a close eye on locals near the mine, and people organized by the government sought to prevent reporters speaking to residents. "There's no hope," said one resident who said two friends were victims of the blast.

Maxim Duncan