Deputy manager Gao Wanfu was among 29 miners killed in the Wanbao mine on the outskirts of the city of Taonan, the China Daily reported. Another victim, maintenance man Zhang Min, was trapped at the mouth of the shaft, where he had gone to apply for leave, the paper said.
The fire roared through the mine on Friday morning, spreading from a cabin that housed the winch used to lower miners into the shaft, the report said.
Fires, floods and other accidents caused 5,230 deaths in Chinese coal mines in the first 10 months of the year, according to the State Administration of Work Safety.
China is the world's largest coal producer, churning out nearly 1.5 billion tons a year. Yet its mines often lack such basic equipment as ventilation gear, and miners themselves are often migrant farm workers who lack safety training.
