Toll hits 27 in Hebei's gypsum mine collapse
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-11-07 22:06

The death toll rose to 27 in agypsum mine accident in Xingtai, a city in north China's Hebei Province, on Monday, according to the local government.

Twenty-one miners are hospitalized and 20 miners are still trapped, according to the rescue headquarters.

The accident occurred at around 7:40 p.m. Sunday at a gypsum mine in Shangwang Village in Huining Township in Xingtai. The collapse affected two gypsum mines nearby, collapsing many of the residential houses of the two mines.

The state and provincial officials in charge of production safety have rushed to the site to direct the rescue work.

The city issued a notice on Monday, ordering all the mines in the city to implement safety overhauls.