A State Council investigation team was formed Sunday to probe
the deadly gas explosion at a coal mine in Shanxi Province last
Wednesday, which killed 105 people.
The blast in Hongtong County is believed to be the second
deadliest mining disaster so far this year. In August, 181 miners
died when heavy rains flooded two mines in Shandong Province.
The gas explosion last Wednesday occurred at 11:15 pm at the
Xinyao Coal Mine, a village-run coal firm in Hongtong County, the
city of Linfen, while 128 miners were working in the shaft.
Li Yizhong, director of the State Administration of Work Safety,
is heading the team investigating the blast.
Li said the colliery's managers had delayed reporting the
explosion to local authorities - they had sent another 37 workers
down the shafts to get the victims and let slip a crucial time for
rescue efforts.
The mine owner and other executives reportedly escaped after the
accident, causing more difficulties for rescue work.
Of the rescued miners, 18 were injured with four in serious
condition, Li said.
Police have detained 35 people so far, instead of the previously
reported 33, who are allegedly connected to or responsible for the
fatal blast.
Among those detained were colliery manager Gao Jianmin, and Wang
Hongliang, the mine's legal representative.
The mine's license has been suspended and its bank accounts
frozen.
The Ministry of Public Security has also issued a class-B arrest
warrant for the owner of the mine.
Vice-Minister of Supervision Qu Wanxiang, deputy head of the
investigation team, said Sunday that negligence and misconduct are
being taken into consideration and those involved will be
punished.
Meng Xuenong, the acting governor of Shanxi Province, said
Sunday that the province should draw lessons from the incident and
improve work safety, especially in coal mines.
Separately, all 11 miners trapped in an iron pit roof collapse
in Hebei Province were rescued after a five-day operation by Sunday
morning.
Local government authorities said the miners are in stable
condition and have been taken to the local hospital for medical
check-ups and treatment.
The miners had been trapped for 129 hours after the roof of a
private iron and gold ore pit collapsed at 6 pm last Monday in
Chengde, a popular summer resort in the province.
But the mine owner failed to report the collapse to local
authorities in the city until Thursday morning.
An investigation into the cause of the accident is under
way.
(China Daily, Xinhua News Agency December 10, 2007)