Four people died and another five were trapped following a roof collapse in a colliery in northeast China's Liaoning Province, authorities said Monday. Twelve miners were working in a shaft when the accident happened at 11 a.m. Sunday in the Qingshui No. 2 Colliery in Qingshuitai township in the provincial capital of Shenyang, according to a press release issued by the provincial coal mine safety supervisory bureau. By 11 a.m. on Monday, three people had been lifted out of the debris, and rescue work was still underway, Xinhua quoted the press release as saying. Deputy Governor Zhao Huaming arrived at the scene to direct rescue efforts after the accident. Wei Gang, deputy general manager with the SCC, said 13.5 meters of roofing collapsed at a newly-dug shaft located 500 meters underground, and a mechanism has been set up to prevent collapses during the rescue process. Wei said it will take three days for rescuers to clean up the debris, and the chances of survival for those who were buried beneath sand and stones were slim. The cause of the accident is under investigation.
