The death toll from the coal mine gas explosion in Pingdingshan of central China's Henan province climbed to 42 Wednesday, with 37 miners still trapped underground.

Rescuers said the chance of survival for those missing is slim as the level of deadly gas remains very high.

"The concentration of carbon monoxide underground after the explosion is more than 10 percent, and that could be fatal for both rescuers and the people trapped there," Chen Jiansheng, the chairman of Zhong Ping Energy Chemical Group and a member of the rescue team, told China Daily yesterday.

Rescuers prepare to go down into the pit where a gas blast took place early Tuesday morning in Pingdingshan, central China's Henan province September 8, 2009. Search and rescue operation is still underway. [Xinhua]

The 37 missing people are possibly trapped in four different zones.

"The situation underground is very complicated," said a rescuer from Baofeng, who refused to be named, as he stood near the rescue area.

"I'm afraid the chances of finding survivors is dimming," he told China Daily.

The central government, however, tried to rally spirits.

"We have no reason to give up hope, the rescue work will continue," Vice-Premier Zhang Dejiang said Wednesday.

He arrived in Pingdingshan with a government delegation on Tuesday.

The deadly gas blast took place around 1 am Tuesday in the Xinhua No. 4 pit in Xinhua district of Pingdingshan city.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate has dispatched a team to investigate the possibility that dereliction of duty or abuse of power may have led to the blast.

About 70 percent of colliery accidents in the country occur in small and illegal coal mines, which usually lack safety measures.

Despite a relentless government crackdown on illegal mines, some unscrupulous mine owners - who often make secret deals with local officials - continue to operate.

A total of 93 people were working in the pit when the accident happened, 14 of whom managed to escape.

Qi Tongyan, deputy head of Xinhua district, and Zhang Xizhi, a coal industry administration official of the city, were dismissed from their posts Tuesday afternoon, about 10 hours after the deadly gas blast.

The Xinhua No. 4 pit was undergoing an overhaul and had not been allowed to resume production by the government of Pingdingshan city.

Local police have detained the mine owner and two managers, and five officials had been dismissed on Tuesday.

The local authority also froze the colliery's bank account on Tuesday.

Another coal mine accident happened in Henan province yesterday morning, killing 13 people underground.

Six miners and seven rescuers died after a fire broke out in a gold mine in Sanmenxia city yesterday morning. All the bodies have been recovered.

Lei Jianguo, director of the bureau, said a sudden cave-in caused an electric cable to catch fire at 5 am on Wednesday, when 12 miners were working underground, according to Xinhua News Agency.

(China Daily September 10, 2009)