A coal mine blast in north China's Shanxi Province on Saturday has left at least
19 miners dead and 39 others trapped.
At press time 18 bodies had been found by rescuers at
Linjiazhuang Coal Mine in Lingshi County, while rescuers continued
their race against time to save the trapped miners.
Another man, who was dispatched by the mine owner right after
the accident to "look into" what happened, was also confirmed
dead.
Li Yizhong, director of the State Administration of Work Safety
(SAWS), and Zhao Tiechui, director of the State Administration of
Coal Mine Safety, arrived on the scene to manage rescue and relief
work.
Jin Shanzhong, vice-governor of Shanxi responsible for work
safety affairs, told the 70-member rescue team to "spare no
efforts" to save the trapped miners.
Sixty-four miners were working 100 metres below the surface when
the explosion occurred at 4:30?PM on Saturday. It is not known
what caused the explosion.
According to SAWS website, six miners escaped after the blast
and one was rescued.
Conditions for the remaining 39 miners underground are unknown,
said an employee surnamed Wang working at rescue headquarters.
It is a licensed mine owned and operated by Duanchun town in the
county. However, the office director of the county's work safety
bureau said the licence was suspended at the end of last year while
it worked on expansion of production capacity.
In another development, 18 people were stranded by a coal mine
flood in Ziyun County in Guizhou Province. At press time no more
information was available on the accident.
(China Daily July 17, 2006)