The death toll from last week's coal mine explosion in central China has risen to 122, with 26 people still missing, Xinhua news agency said this morning.
Some 446 miners were working underground when gas ignited in the shafts of Daping mine in Xinmi in central Henan province last Wednesday.
Daping is part of state-owned Zhengzhou Coal Industry Group, which produces about 6.6 million tonnes of coal a year. The company shut down all its mines on Friday for safety inspections.
China's coal industry, already the world's biggest and most hazardous, provides the main fuel for the world's seventh-biggest economy, and has expanded with little regulation to keep up with booming demand.
Beijing has struggled to impose better safety rules, but many mines are run illegally or with local officials turning a blind eye.
Coal mine deaths hit 4,153 in the first nine months of this year, down 630 from the same period last year, official figures show. Analysts say the real figure is probably higher, with many mine-related deaths going unreported.