Relatives furious at China mine's management

Rescued miners get out of a mine after repairing the channel and searching for the survivors at the Dongfeng Colliery in Qitaihe in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang yesterday, nearly two days after an explosion.. PHOTO: AFP

Nine miners were still listed as missing, more than 40 hours after the Sunday night cave-in at the state-run Dongfeng coal mine, near Qitaihe city in the northeast province of Heilongjiang, not far from the Russian border.

State press said six more bodies were pulled out of the rubble on Tuesday, bringing the death toll to 148. Another 72 miners had been rescued, the government's work safety watchdog said.

As rescue efforts continued for the nine still missing, the victims' relatives expressed anger and frustration at the Dongfeng mine's management for consistently ignoring safety concerns and exploiting the workers.

"They all knew there were safety problems but they wouldn't do anything about it," a woman surnamed Ge, who was waiting outside the mine on Monday night to hear news of two of her relatives, told AFP.