国际英语新闻：Rescue efforts halt in U.S. mine, rescuers pull out

WASHINGTON, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Rescuers on Thursday were forced to pull out of a U.S. coal mine, halting efforts to search for 4 miners unaccounted for after an explosion left at least 25 dead.

Kevin Stricklin, an official with the Federal Mine Health and Safety Administration, said the they were forced to abandon the rescue at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia because of dangerous gases, which could explode and put the rescue crew in danger.

The rescuers were digging their way to underground refuge chambers, where they hope to find the four missing miners. The airtight chambers were stocked with water, food and oxygen supply. Rescuers were within 300 meters to reach the chambers.

Kevin Stricklin, an administrator with the Mine Safety and Health Administration addresses reporters near the Upper Big Branch coal mine in Montcoal, West Virginia. earch teams re-entered the mine Thursday to look for four missing miners and recover bodies after the worst US mine disaster in over two decades, officials said.

"This was a scenario that we didn't want," West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin said.

The blast occurred Monday at the mine operated by a Massey Energy subsidiary, nearly 50 km south of West Virginia's capital Charleston. It left at least 25 miners dead and 4 unaccounted for. Rescue workers were working day and night to reach the possible survivors since then.