Children cry for their fathers. Wives await husbands. Parents long for sons. Workers brood silently about missing colleagues.

The number of missing has dwindled to a few. The death toll has climbed. And rescue work has all but ground to a halt, held back by the thick gas underground.

All, however, are still waiting, braving freezing temperatures for hours on end in this mountainous coal city, unwilling to face the inevitable reality: their loved ones will probably never return home.

"I believe a miracle will occur," says 23-year-old miner Yang Dayong. He clings to the hope that his father, two uncles and one brother-in-law are still alive somewhere in the labyrinth of tunnels hundreds of metres beneath his feet.

But hope is dimming as the number of deaths climbs to 148 and the list of those unaccounted for dwindles to just 3. But while their fate remains unknown there is still hope, albeit slim, that they could have survived the explosion that rocked Dongfeng Coal Mine in Qitaihe on Sunday and the ensuing gas build-up.

Xinhua reported that the mine's chief enginner told the investigators that the management discovered colliery had been building up five days before the explosion. They had appointed task forces to deal with the situation.

Although the official attendance roll shows 254 miners were on duty that day, the number of miners' lamps issued for the shift suggests that actually 221 men went down the pit.

Accompanying his mother, whose eyes have no tears left to cry, Yang, like everyone in the community, knows how vulnerable a miner's life can be.

Together with his mother and younger sister, Yang was preparing a late dinner on Sunday evening for his father. The 42-year-old was expected to climb out of the mine at 11 pm.

"A bang at around 9:40 pm shocked us," said Yang, who lives three minutes walk from the mine. He had been working the day shift on Sunday and had made his way above ground at 3 pm. "I escaped the explosion by just a few hours."

He said his father, uncles and brother-in-law were digging in the third mining zone, the most geographically complicated of the mine's 15 zones, where the rest of the missing workers worked before the explosion.

"We are crying for the rescue team to reach them as soon as possible."

But after hours of efforts, choking gas forced the team to retreat from the mine and wait for repairs to its ventilation system.

"It's really difficult to make the system work," said Li Yizhong, minister of the State Administration of Work Safety, who arrived on the site Monday.

Provincial governor Zhang Zuoji also came to the mine to supervise the rescue operation. Depressed and tired, the two officials yesterday drummed police, soldiers and rescue forces to spare no efforts in saving miners. Before the mine explosion they had been dealing with the environmental crisis in the Songhua River in the province.

Although no family wants to face death, the provincial government has already announced compensation for relatives of the victims, with payout expected to reach 200,000-220,000 yuan (US$24,600-27,100) for each bereaved family.

And yesterday the coal mine company, Heilongjiang Longmei Mining (Group) Co Ltd, also announced an extra subsidy of 2,000 yuan (US$246) for those families affected.

"I'm also in mourning and maybe I will be punished soon," said Jia Jiguo, head of the company as he tried to calm crowds outside the mine yesterday. Insiders said that mine heads will at least have to take responsibility for the inaccurate attendance list.

The same as Yang's father, Deng Hongwei, Sai Rubo and Yi Xiaoliang were also working the night shift on Sunday. They survived because they left the shaft at around 8 pm, around an hour before the explosion.

Hero in the darkness

Head of the hospital, Shi Guicheng confirmed that a total of 50 miners have been treated in her hospital. Three are in a critical condition.

"All of those in our hospital will be out of danger in one or two weeks, including those in critical condition," said Shi.

Lying on a bed in Qitaihe Coal Mine Bureau Hospital, 41-year-old gas monitor Kuang Pingqiu is still in shock.

Kuang is not only a survivor, he is also a hero for bringing two fellow miners to safety.

Dong Baoliang, 31 and 47-year-old Liang Qinbai, owe their lives to Kuang.

"We didn't know each other before and even now, I've no idea what his name is," said Dong, who lay in the next bed to Kuang.

Dong was cutting up blocks of coal, like a meat slicer, dumping the broken shreds onto a conveyor belt taking it to the surface.

When the explosion happened, he was dumbstruck, his head swam as he fought his way through the network of tunnels.

"I didn't know where to go and just staggered aimlessly. Several times, I tried to wake up some co-workers but failed," said Dong. He does not know what happened to the 21 men he was working with.

He said he finally met Kuang in a tunnel which was relatively rich in oxygen. "At that time, I really didn't know where to go to safety."

After struggling in the tunnel for 12 hours, they reached a lift which took them to the surface.

"You cannot imagine spending 12 hours in underground darkness surrounded by deadly gas," said Kuang.

"I was confident that I could save myself and others," Kuang added. "I saw rescuers waiting in the elevator underground, they acted too slowly."

Rescue headquarters explained that there was danger of a second explosion if rescuers failed to follow the proper procedures.

Bad safety record

A major source of the fuel firing China's economy, Heilongjiang is famous for coal mining. To boost the industry, the Heilongjiang Longmei Mining (Group) Co Ltd, a conglomerate of four major State-owned coal mining companies, was launched this year in Harbin, the provincial capital. The new group is composed of Jixi, Hegang, Shuangyashan and Qitaihe coal companies, all giants of the province's coal industry.

However, mine safety has shown no sign of improvement. Last year, an average of 18 miners died every day in the nation's mines. This year the situation is worsening as fatal disasters pile up one after another.

The involvement of local government officials in the coal mining industry, despite orders from the central government to cut ties, is a continuing problem.

In Qitaihe, a local coal mine safety chief was found to have invested in an illegal small coal mine in which 18 miners died this March.

"If this kind of situation continues, sad stories will increase," said a local taxi driver. "The sadness not only haunts the city today, what has happened will continue to haunt us for years to come."

(Source: Xinhua/China Daily)