Xinhua/Shanghai Daily

The death toll from Sunday's explosion at a Heilongjiang Province coal mine rose to 146 yesterday as rescuers found the bodies of eight more workers.
Rescuers continued to search for the remaining five missing miners, but survival was doubtful because of high concentrations of poisonous gas in the underground tunnels, said Song Kaicheng, an engineer at the Qitaihe branch of the Longmei Mining (Group) Co Ltd, owner of the mine where the explosion occurred.
When the blast ripped through the Dongfeng Coal Mine in Qitaihe at 9:40pm Sunday, 221 miners were working underground, said Zhang Chengxiang, director of the provincial coal mine safety bureau.
More than 70 were rescued as some 380 men were sent down into the mine to locate the stranded workers.
Investigators said the mishap was caused by a coal-dust explosion, which knocked out all ventilation systems in the pit. The main ventilation system resumed operation on Monday morning, said Zhang.
Shi Guicheng, deputy president of the Qimei Group General Hospital, said 47 of the rescued miners were suffering from gas poisoning.
"Many of the injured are recovering after treatment in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber," said Shi, who added that some miners were also suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome.
One of the miners received head injuries, and he was also treated in hospital for gas poisoning, said Shi.
Shi said four additional medical specialists are scheduled to join the three who are treating the injured miners.
The manager of the coal mine, Ma Jinguang, was named a "model mine manager" this month, the Oriental Morning Post reported yesterday.
And the colliery has been given the "star mine" award in Heilongjiang Province for the past three years, the Post said.
The state-owned mine, founded in 1956, produces half a million tons of coal a year.
The family of each victim will receive compensation ranging from 200,000 (US$24,745) to 220,000 yuan. China News Service said efforts to identify the victims' bodies will start today.