2010-04-07 02:24

YICHUAN, Henan - The death toll after a central China mine blast last week has risen to 40，with 6 still missing, local authorities said on Tuesday. ? ?

An official with the rescue headquarters confirmed Tuesday that 98 people were working underground in the Guomin coal mine in?Yichuan county when the blast occurred at 7:20 pm on March 31. 57 were lifted to the ground unharmed, 35 were killed and six are still missing. The explosion also killed five and injured one on the ground,?the official said. ? ?

The illegal coal mine owned by village head Wang Guozheng was poorly managed and even does not have a payroll list. That's why the dead and missing could not be identified, the official said.

Ten people allegedly accountable for the accident are under control by police, including mine owner Wang Guozheng, who was previously given a reprieved imprisonment sentence in 2009 for covering up a mine accident. ? ?

Work safety authorities ordered the mine to suspend operations after a gas outburst on May 1, 2009. Production ever since has?been illegal, said a statement from the Henan Provincial?Administration of Work Safety.