Miner pulled from China mine after five days

A miner was pulled alive from a coal mine in northern China today, five days after a fire broke out deep underground, killing 18 of his colleagues.

The unidentified survivor was rushed to hospital suffering from undetermined injuries, authorities in Shanxi province said.

The bodies of the 18 other miners were also recovered from the Chiyu mine near Huozhou, city official Zhang Jun said.

The victims had died of suffocation and carbon monoxide poisoning, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The coal mine continued burning today.

The blaze was triggered on Sunday by an electric spark in the main shaft, Xinhua said.

Police said they were searching for the manager of the state-owned mine, which has been run by Huozhou Coal and Power for five years.

The Huozhou city government has ordered all coal mines in the area to stop production for safety checks.

A steadily rising death toll has prompted Chinese authorities to close thousands of the country’s coal mines, the deadliest in the world.

More than 3,500 miners have been killed so far this year in accidents caused by lack of fire and

ventilation equipment and lax enforcement of safety regulations.