As of 5:00 PM Tuesday, the death toll of northeast China coal mine blast rose to148, while the whereabouts of three miners are still unknown, rescuers said.

The rescuers said they retrieved the bodies of two female workers in the ground generator room on Tuesday afternoon.

Altogether 221 miners were working underground when the blast went off at 9:40 PM Sunday at Dongfeng Coal Mine run by the Qitaihe branch of the Longmei Mining (Group) Co., Ltd. in Heilongjiang Province.

The rescue operation was performed immediately after the accident and 72 miners were rescued.

The local hospital source said the six survivors of the blast, who were seriously injured, are in stable condition.

By press time, rescuers are going all-out to search for the last three miners trapped beneath the coal mine shaft.

(Xinhua News Agency November 29, 2005)