Carbon monoxide kills 12 in NE China mine

 　　HARBIN, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Carbon monoxide has been blamed for the Tuesday deaths of 12 workers in a coal mine in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, a local official said Thursday.

　　Three workers entered the Yongsheng mine in Dongning County to pump out water before passing out from carbon monoxide poisoning around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, said Zhang Fuguang, deputy head of the county government.

　　Zhang said an initial investigation¹ showed that a dense² buildup of carbon monoxide in the mine was caused by self-igniting coal in an old mine located adjacent to the Yongsheng mine.

　　The mine's managers organized volunteer rescue efforts to locate the workers, but the rescuers were also poisoned, as they had no equipment to detect the carbon monoxide.

　　More than 30 professional rescuers arrived Tuesday afternoon and pulled 20 people out of the mine, including the trapped workers. Twelve of the people, including the head of the mine, died despite medical treatment.

　　The other eight are being treated at local hospitals, where they are in stable condition.

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。