SHIJIAZHUANG, Nov. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Rescuers have given up searching for at least four miners trapped in the collapsed plaster mines in north China's Hebei Province, as there's virtually no chance for them to survive 13 days after the fatal accident.

    Repeated cave-ins have made the rescue operation extremely difficult and may put the rescuers' lives at risk, an expert panel with the emergency rescue headquarters in Xingtai have advised.

    The death toll has therefore risen to at least 37.

    Families of the 33 people who were confirmed dead earlier have been compensated by the local government. Compensation for each dead miner was 173,600 yuan (21,400 US dollars), while that for other deaths -- including family members and businessmen trapped by collapsed residential buildings nearby, averaged 80,000 yuan (9,900 US dollars) per person, the rescue headquarters confirmed.

    The local government is also ready to compensate some local villagers whose houses were destroyed in the accident.

    The cave-ins occurred at 7:40 p.m. on Nov. 6 in three plaster mines in the county of Xingtai, trapping at least 71 people.

    On Thursday, rescuers miraculously saved one miner who had been trapped for 11 days. Yuan Shenglin, the lucky survivor, was weak but conscious. He is being treated at a local hospital. Enditem