57 miners have died in a fire at five connected iron ore mines in northern China.
The fire started last Saturday in a privately run mine in Shahe city, and spread rapidly to four other mines nearby, trapping 106 people working underground.
46 were rescued but another three are still missing. Most of the miners died from smoke inhalation.
Equipped with oxygen tanks, rescuers, who were temporarily blocked by heavy smoke overnight, resumed the search for the missing today after using smoke-expelling machines to clear the pits.
Preliminary investigations found that an electronic cable had ignited in one of the mines, sparking a fire that spread to the other four pits.
Police have detained the people in charge of the mines and
frozen their bank accounts.
Premier Wen Jiabao ordered rescue teams to make every effort to find the trapped workers and punish those responsible for the disaster.
The State Council, China's cabinet, also appointed a team to investigate the fire.
It was the third major safety accident in Hebei province in the past two months. A gas explosion in Handan killed 13 people and 29 others died when a coal mine flooded in the same city.
