JAKARTA (AFP) – The death toll from a massive explosion in an Indonesian coal mine rose to 17 with dozens still trapped and feared dead deep underground, officials said.
Rescuers working overnight pulled eight bodies from the mine in West Sumatra province, which collapsed after an explosion of methane gas on Tuesday, provincial disaster management chief Ade Edward said.
The accident left nine people injured in hospital, while 19 were believed to be trapped underground, Edward said. A figure from the health ministry's crisis centre put the number of missing at 23.
"There's a large chance that they're already dead because there's a lot of carbon dioxide there," he said.
The blast at the mine in Sawah Lunto district sent flames 50 metres (165 feet) into the air and left a huge crater on the surface, officials have said.
Miners were using traditional methods with few modern safety measures in place.
A disaster response official Adriyusman said a dangerous concentration of methane was hampering efforts by rescuers to get to the miners trapped around 100 metres below ground.
"If we look at those that have been taken out I don't think it's likely (the others survived). It's up to God's will," he said.
Indonesia has the largest coal reserves in the Asia-Pacific region behind Australia, India and China, according to the World Coal Institute.
It is the world's second largest coal exporter after Australia.
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