Three foreign workers killed in a coal mine explosion in eastern Malaysia have been identified, and the number of the injured has risen to 29, according to local reports on Sunday.
Malaysian English-language newspaper The Star quoted Sri Aman Police Chief Deputy Superintendent of Police Mat Jusoh Mohammad as saying that the deceased were identified as an Indonesian, a Democratic People's Republic of Korean (DPRK) worker and a Myanmar national.
He also said the number of the injured has risen to 29, including nine Indonesians, six Myanmar nationals, five Chinese, seven DPRK nationals and two Bangladeshis.
According to the Chinese consulate in Kuching, there were Chinese nationals injured in the incident, but the number has not been determined. The consulate has sent staff to visit the Chinese victims, an official told Xinhua.
The explosion occurred in the eastern Sarawak state at 8:45 a.m. local time (0045 GMT) on Saturday when 119 miners, including DPRK, Myanmar, Indonesian, Chinese and Bangladeshi nationals, were working underground.
Sri Aman Fire and Rescue Department Chief Ranger Moos said the blast happened when a switch for the conveyor belt was turned on, and an extractor fan used for expelling gas out of the tunnel was not working. The sparks from the switch or the defective may have caused the accident.