Fifty-nine?bodies have been found after a deadly coalmine
blast in north China's Shanxi
Province by 5:00 PM Sunday.
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Rescuers are searching for ten miners still trapped underground,
according to sources with the rescue headquarters.
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The blast occurred at Saturday noon at the Xishui Coalmine in
Shuozhou and rocked the nearby Kangjiayao Coalmine.?
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Built in 1993, Xishui Coalmine is licensed with an annual output
of 150,000 tons of coal. But the mine was ordered to suspend
production after safety problems last November, said an official
with the provincial supervision office of coal mine production.
"In defiance of the order, however, mine owners have restarted
production this year," said the official.
The other coalmine, Kangjiayao, that fell the victim of
Saturday's explosion, is a normal mine with governmental approval
for production.
Zhang
Baoshun, governor of Shanxi, arrived at the scene to direct
rescue and investigation work.
The provincial government has ordered the suspension of
production in mines that fail to meet safety measures.
Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have demanded
relevant departments try their best to save the trapped and
instructed rescuers to pay attention to their own safety. They also
mentioned to offer appropriate comfort for victims' families.
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Li Yizhong, director of the General Administration of Work
Safety (GAWS), and Zhao Tiechui, director of the State
Administration of Coal Mine Safety under the GAWS, have arrived at
Shuozhou earlier Sunday morning to direct the rescue operation.
(Xinhua News Agency March 20, 2005)
