Beijing, Feb 11, SPA -- A release of poison gas in a Chinese coalmine killed at least 12 miners and left three missing, thegovernment said Saturday. The disaster occurred Friday in the northern city ofDengfeng, in Henan province, the official Xinhua NewsAgency said, citing the Henan Provincial Coal IndustryBureau. A total of 56 miners were working in the Malingshan CoalMine at the time of the accident, and 41 escaped, Xinhuasaid. The gas was released while miners were drillingunderground to test a coal seam, Xinhua said. A 37-member rescue team was searching for the threemissing miners, Xinhua said. It said rescuers were sprayingwater inside the mine to minimize airborne coal dust.--SPA 12 16 Local Time 09 16 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/329509