The death toll in north China's coal mine blast rose to 74 as of 6 p.m. Sunday after one more body was retrieved from the shaft, Xinhua quoted the rescue headquarters as saying. The headquarters did not specify how many bodies were found in the mine shaft, only saying the fatalities included bodies found by rescuers in the mine and workers who died in hospital care. Rescuers said that among 114 hospitalized miners, six are in critical condition. The accident occurred at 2:17 a.m. Sunday while 436 miners were working underground at the Tunlan Coal Mine of Shanxi Coking Coal Group in Gujiao City, about 50 km away from Taiyuan, the provincial capital. As of 1 p.m., 65 miners were confirmed to be trapped in the mine. The Tunlan Coal Mine with an annual production capacity of 5 million tonnes boasts one of the best mining facilities in China. The mining company, Shanxi Coking Coal Group, is China's largest coking coal producer. The mine has had no major accidents for the past five years.
