BEIJING (AFP) - The death toll from a devastating coal mine gas explosion in central China's Henan province rose to 77 as rescuers continued to search for any survivors, state media reported.
Efforts were continuing round the clock to recover 71 others still listed as officially missing, although officials have acknowledged that hopes of any of them being pulled out alive are extremely slim.
Xinhua news agency said that the bodies of 11 miners had been recovered from the pit overnight after Wednesday's blast.
Rescuers were getting closer to the site of the underground explosion some 300 metres (1,000 feet) underground and around 3.5 kilometres (about two miles) from the mine head.
The accident was one of the worst in recent memory for China's notoriously dangerous mines, where lax safety practices are blamed for the deaths of thousands of miners every year.
10/23/2004 - 06:53 GMT - AFP