Chengcheng County officials said on Monday that 28 people are known dead following last week's gas explosion in a colliery in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

Rescuers are searching for one more miner who was reported trapped, but whose chances of survival are considered slim.

The death toll, which stood at 26 on Sunday, rose after one body was recovered shortly before midnight on Sunday and another was found at 2 p.m. on Monday.

The explosion took place in the Yaotou mine at about 8 p.m. on Wednesday. Only seven of the 36 workers managed to escape.

The mine, with a complete set of valid licenses, has an annual capacity of 330,000 tons.

(Xinhua News Agency November 3, 2008)