Beijing, Jan 07: As many as 11 miners are feared dead after an explosion in an illegally run Chinese coal mine that authorities didn't find out about for more than a week, a local official said today. The blast blamed on natural gas ripped through the mine in baiyin, a city in the northwestern province of Gansu, on December 22, according to the official, reached by telephone.

The manager fled without reporting the disaster and authorities didn't learn of it until last Thursday, 11 days later, said the official, who would give only his surname, Wang.
Rescue crews have been looking looked for 11 miners thought to be inside.

But trapped gas is slowing the search and they have found neither survivors nor bodies, Wang said. He said police are looking for the manager.
China's coal mines are the world's most dangerous, with more than 4,000 deaths reported last year in fires, cave-ins and floods.
Bureau Report