Six people are confirmed dead and three others are still missing after a coalmine gas incident on Thursday night in Lengshuijiang City, Hunan Province.

The missing miners are unlikely to survive as the ventilation system has been ruined and tunnels blocked, and gas concentrations remain dense underground, rescuers said on Sunday.

Xie Guangxiang, director of the provincial administration of coal safety, instructed rescuers to alter their rescue plan and work to avoid any further casualties.

A female miner who escaped is recovering in a local hospital. But she is worried about her sister and sister's husband who are trapped in the mine.

China's labor law forbids women from working in shafts.

Mayor of Lengshuijiang City, Liu Xiaolong, assured that the local city government will take care of any children who are orphaned as a result of the tragedy, in compliance with the relevant laws and regulations.

At about 10:24 P.M. Thursday, a large amount of gas burst into the shafts of the Dongtang Coal Mine when 14 miners, including six women, were working underground.

Five miners managed to escape.

Yuan Xinzhong, head of the coal industry bureau of Lengshuijiang city, said the Dongtang Coal Mine is a licensed colliery with an annual production capacity of 10,000 tons.

In March, the Hunan provincial government ordered all coalmines with high gas contents, including the Dongtang Coal Mine, to suspend production. But Dongtang's operators ignored the order, according to Yuan.

(Xinhua News Agency April 10, 2006)