The families of all miners killed in a fatal blast in north China's Hebei Province on Wednesday will each be compensated at least 200,000 yuan (US$25,000), according to the rescue operation headquarters yesterday.

The owners of Liuguantun Coal Mine, where the explosion has claimed the lives of 74 miners and left 32 missing underground, have allocated a total of 20 million yuan (US$2.5 million) for compensation.

The amount was fixed in accordance with a local government regulation produced in March, but will be increased by 20,000 to 30,000 yuan depending on the circumstances of the victims' families, the headquarters said.

The blast took place at around 3:15 PM two days ago in the colliery in Kaiping District of Tangshan City, and is thought to have been a gas explosion.

The mine's management said 82 of the 186 miners working underground at the time escaped to safety shortly afterward.

More than 100 rescuers continued searching for the 32 still trapped, but their efforts were hampered on Thursday as the density of carbon monoxide in the shaft was 100 times above safety standards, according to the headquarters.

The colliery was privatized in 2002.

(Xinhua News Agency December 9, 2005)