Six miners, trapped underground after their mine was flooded
early Friday morning, were confirmed dead, according to official
sources of northwest China's Shaanxi Province on Saturday.
As of wee hours Saturday, rescuers had completely pumped out the
floodwater and found the bodies of the six trapped miners, sources
with the Luonan county government said.
Investigations show that the flooding was caused by illegal
explosion operation conducted by the Tongma Mining Company, which
administers the gold mine.
The company was exploring mining sources, according to the
provincial safety supervision authorities, and people in charge of
the explosion are under police custody.
The flooding occurred at 5:20 AM?Friday when seven miners
were working underground in the gold mine, located in Jialu
Township in Luonan County. The explosion ignited by Tongma company
broke a nearby abandoned tunnel full with water.
One miner escaped narrowly when their workface was flooded by
water coming from the abandoned tunnel.
Established in May, 2003, Tongma company has 150 employees.
(Xinhua?News Agency December 10, 2006)