China's State Council, or cabinet, set up an investigation team Tuesday on the Tunlan Coal Mine accident, which left 74 people dead and 114 others injured Sunday in the northern province of Shanxi.

Zhao Tiechui, deputy director of the investigation team, gave a positive appraisal of the rescuers' work at a meeting Tuesday morning.

Zhao said that the rescue work had been efficiently organized, with provincial heads having set up rescue headquarters at the coal mine. The entire process had taken 224 people 16 hours to complete the rescue, which he called a very arduous task.

"Despite complicated disaster conditions, the rescuers achieved success in a relatively short time," said Zhao, adding that the investigation team "gave a positive appraisal of the rescue work."

Three coal mine officials were removed from their posts after the accident, a source from the State Administration of Work Safety said Monday. The officials were said to be the chief of state-owned Tunlan coal mine Yin Gencheng, the engineer-in-chief and a deputy chief in charge of work safety.

The accident occurred at about 2:20 a.m. Sunday, while 436 miners were working underground at the Tunlan Coal Mine of the Shanxi Coking Coal Group in Gujiao City, about 50 km from Taiyuan, the provincial capital.

The blast also injured 114 miners, including 26 seriously. Most of the injured showed symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, rescuers said.

(Xinhua News Agency February 24, 2009)