BEIJING, April 25 -- Sixty-nine miners were trapped yesterday morning in a coal mine that flooded in Northeast China's Jilin Province, Xinhua News reports.

    The flood, in Jiaohe County, could have been triggered by rainfall set off by cloud seeding and melted ice from the Songhua River, local sources said. Rescue work was under way.

    The accident was one of three that have occurred in workplaces over recent days in China.

    In the second accident, which happened at a colliery on Saturday in Yuzhou, Central China's Henan Province, eight lives were lost and four people were missing. Another 67 miners working at the time escaped, according to a local official.

    The Yuzhou accident was caused when a machine operating in the coal mine caught fire, which then spread quickly.

    The colliery, called Fushun Coal Mine and a township enterprise, was operating illegally.

    The province's Vice-Governor Shi Jichun went to the site to direct the rescue team, which consisted of a local fire-fighting team, a public security task force and local officials.

    The mine owner is being questioned by the police.

    In the third accident - a chemical workshop explosion in Qijiang County, Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality - at least 12 people were killed, local officials said.

    Ten people were injured and seven were still missing, said Pan Dexiang, a county official.

    The blast occurred on Thursday evening at an emulsification workshop at Dongxi Chemical Plant.

    It destroyed a three-story factory building and left a cone-shaped ditch about two metres deep.

    Residents 300 metres away were safely evacuated.

    Most of them heard the huge blast and felt the ground shake.

    Some windows were broken and a tree fell over.

    Building debris was mixed with explosive material, which posed the risk of a second blast that could threaten the rescue team.

    A group of explosive and geology experts were dispatched to the workshop to guarantee the safety of the rescue work.

    Ten tons of hazardous chemicals have been removed from the factory's warehouse to ensure safety during the rescue operation, and rescuers are cleaning up the debris and explosives left at the site.

    However, another batch of explosives is still buried under the rubble, said a source.

    Dongxi Plant has raised 2.5 million yuan (US$300,000) to finance medical costs incurred by the injured workers and to compensate the victims' families.

    A local insurance company has paid 500,000 (US$60,000) yuan in advance payments.

    Detailed compensation measures are being made, which will guarantee a minimum compensation fee of some 200,000 yuan (US$24,000) to each of the victims.

    (Source: China Daily)