A safety production monitoring official in north China's Hebei province said Friday that flames from electric welding caused the mine fire that claimed 68 lives in Shahe, a city in north China's Hebei province, on Nov. 20.

Initial investigation indicated that the flames ignited some timbers in the tunnel, said Fu Wencai, director of the provincial bureau of supervision on safety production.

The fire began in the mine operated by Li Shengwen and soon spread to four other connected mines. A total of 116 miners were trapped.

The miners who died in the disaster were either locals or needy farmers from the underdeveloped Guizhou Province in southwest China and Shaanxi Province in northwest China.

All the mines in Shahe have been shut down.

(Xinhua News Agency December 4, 2004)