Death toll rises to 16 in SW China coal mine accident, 2 still missing

Rescuers found three more bodies after a coal and gas outburst hit a coal mine Tuesday morning in southwest China's Guizhou Province, bringing the death toll of the accident to 16, authorities said. The three bodies were found at around 7 p.m. and two miners were still missing, said a spokesman with the provincial safety supervisory department. The accident occurred at 7:53 a.m. at the Anping Coal Mine, which is located in the Lihua Township in the county of Libo, said Min Luming, secretary of the county committee of the Communist Party of China. Min said 28 miners were working in the shaft when the accident happened. Thirteen managed to escape, and among the them, three died later in hospital. An investigation into the cause of the accident is under way.