An explosion ripped through a coal mine in western Indonesia, killing at least 28 people and burying 12 others who were feared dead, officials said Wednesday. Dozens of rescuers tried to reach the trapped men after the Tuesday morning blast, but rock slides and a mix of gas and coal debris forced them to resurface after four hours of digging, district police Chief Yasman Esha in West Sumatra province said by phone from the scene. «We fear the miners are dead by now,» Esha was quoted as saying by The Associated Press. Four bodies were recovered soon after the morning blast at the 300-foot (100-meter) -deep mine in Sawahlunto regency on Sumatra island, he said. Eight more were pulled out late Tuesday after teams pumped oxygen into the mine shaft to allow rescuers to breathe. Health Ministry Crisis Center chief Rustam Pakaya said rescuers have found 11 more bodies, bringing the death toll to 28, including five who were rescued but died at a hospital. Nine survivors are still being treated, two of them in critical condition, Pakaya said. He added that rescuers were still searching for 12 miners. Police were trying to determine what caused the blast. A preliminary investigation said it was triggered by leaking methane gas. The mine, owned by a local company, is 560 miles (900 kilometers) northwest of the capital, Jakarta. Indonesia has some of the world's largest coal deposits and is a major coal exporter.
