KARUNA SHINSHO, CNN ANCHOR: Beijing is ordering an all-out effort to rescue dozens of minor trapped at a mine in China's east. Officials say at least 16 people were killed in a powerful explosion at the mine Sunday. Lisa Rose Weaver has the details.</s>LISA ROSE WEAVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The blast ripped through the mine, while workers were in a shaft 260 meters below the surface. China's Sing Wa News Agency says the blast was caused by a buildup of gasses in the small coal mine. A day and a half after the explosion, one mining official told CNN, there's little hope of finding anyone else alive, although rescue efforts continue. Earlier, rescue crews were able to save 13 people. The explosion highlights China's badly enforced safety measures. A mining official confirmed reports that the coal pit was ordered to stop production last month, as part of a campaign to close unsafe and unlicensed mines. But it quickly reopened, reflecting a trend all over rural China, where the unemployed are desperate to work. China's coal industry is the biggest in the world, and it's the most dangerous. Last year, official sources reported more than 5,000 mining deaths. There's been nearly 3,000 deaths this year reported so far. Lisa Rose Weaver, CNN, Beijing.
Powerful Mine Explosion Kills at Least 16 in Beijing