Rescuers have found 14 bodies as of 5 PM Monday at the site of the coal mine gas blast in southwest China's Guizhou Province, but two victims remain missing, according to the provincial work safety supervision bureau.

Twenty-five miners were working down the pit when the blast went off and caused a cave-in early Friday at Shagou colliery in Panlong township, in the city of Liupanshui. Nine of them escaped.

The colliery has three mining systems underground with a designed annual output of 30,000 tons. When the colliery runs at full capacity, the concentration of carbon monoxide rises to a degree too high for the ventilation system to work effectively.

However, the mine still went on working at its utmost capacity despite the local supervisor's warnings. A high gas concentration was the direct cause of the tragedy, experts at the site said.

A search operation is underway but the two's chances of survival are slim, rescuers said.

(Xinhua News Agency November 22, 2005)