The bodies were found under the rubble of the collapsed mine in Dai Hong Hamlet, Dai Loc District at 5:20 pm yesterday, rescuers said.
The victims were Bui Thi Sang, a 18-year-old female worker, and Bui Duc Vuong, a 17-year-old male, both of Hoa Binh Province.
The two were among the miners hired by a local man, Nguyen Binh Vuong, 52, to work on the illegal mining site, part of the Ngoc Kinh coal mine, said deputy chairman of the district People’s Committee, Phan Duc Tinh.
The incident occurred at 8 pm on April 24 when the mining site suddenly collapsed because of a large rockslide from the mountain nearby, Tinh said.
A coal pit set up illegally in the Ngoc Kinh coal mine (Photo: Tuoi Tre)
The accident also seriously injured another worker, Quach Cong Ta, also of Hoa Binh Province.
Tran Thanh Tam, head of Dai Loc District’s Dai Hong Commune Police, where Nguyen Binh Vuong lives, said the man had hired a number of workers from northern provinces to work at his mining site.
The police have been questioning Vuong about his illegal mining activities.