Rescuers carry a survivor out of the Nuan'erhe Coal Mine to the ambulance in Chengde, north China's Hebei Province May 21, 2005. A blast happened May 19 stranded 51 miners. 12 bodies has been recovered and another lucky man is found alive. However, the other 38 trapped are still missing. (Xinhua Photo)

Medical members carry a survivor out of the Nuan'erhe Coal Mine in Chengde, north China's Hebei Province May 21, 2005.  (Xinhua Photo)

    CHENGDE, Hebei, May 21 (Xinhuanet) -- One survivor was rescued Saturday morning, with remains of other five workers discovered to bring the death toll to 12 from a coal mine blast that occured Thursday in Chengde City, north China's Hebei Province, according to the rescue team.

    The rescued, a security guard named Sun Jisheng and the first survivor discovered underground, was lifted up to the ground at 5:17 a.m. Saturday. He was sent to hospital immediately.

    A total of 94 professional rescuers are working in teams, trying to locate the other 38 miners who are still trapped, said Wang Yushan, head of the city administration of work safety of Chengde.

    The explosion accident occurred at around 3:00 a.m. Thursday when 85 miners working underground at the Nuan'erhe Coal Mine in Chengde City. Thirty-four of them were lifted up to the ground, with 51 others trapped by Thursday night.

    Located at Nanzhangzi Village in Bajia Township, the coal mine used to be state-owned, but was auctioned to the Beijing Guodian Zhongneng Electric Fuel Investment Co. Ltd. for 65 million yuan (7.8 million US dollars) in Dec. 2003.

    The coal mine was built at a cost of 20 million yuan (2.4 million US dollars) in 1982 and put into operation in 1987 with a designed production capacity of 210,000 tons a year. One-third of its production is coke.

    The coal mine was hit by two big gas blasts on Jan. 26 and Jan.27 in 2002, leaving 29 miners dead and 11 others injured.

    The Hebei provincial government has decided to overhaul all coal mines in the province to strengthen production safety. Enditem