Rescuers work at Jinshangou Coal Mine in Laisu Town of Yongchuan District in Chongqing, southwest China, Oct. 31, 2016. 33 miners were trapped underground after a gas explosion which occurred at 11:30 a.m. at the coal mine when 35 miners were working in the shaft. Two were hoisted to safety. Rescuers are searching for those trapped underground. (Xinhua/Tang Yi)
Fifteen miners have been confirmed dead after an explosion at a coal mine in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality Monday morning.
A total of 35 miners were working underground at privately-owned Jinshangou Coal Mine in Laisu Town, Yongchuan District, when there was a gas explosion at 11:30 a.m.
Two people managed to escape, and 18 remain unaccounted for, said Chongqing municipal coal mine safety inspection bureau on Monday night. The bureau ordered all coal mines in the municipality to suspend production for safety checks.
More than 200 rescue workers including firefighters, armed police and mining rescuers are at the site to search coal shafts for the missing miners.
The State Administration of Work Safety has dispatched a work group to direct the rescue effort in Chongqing, according to an announcement published on the authority's website.
It ordered all-out efforts to rescue the trapped miners and an investigation into the cause of the accident, adding that those responsible must be strictly punished.
The designed capacity of the mine is 60,000 tons of coals every year, according to its license.
