A cave-in at a colliery in Henan
Province killed five miners on Saturday, while another
suspended rescue and recovery work yesterday at the Guangdong
Province coal mine flooded on August 7.
An official from Henan's work safety administration said on
Sunday that the accident there took place at Xuzhuang Xinghua No.2
Coal Mine in Dengfeng City at 11:50 AM the day before as 29 were
working underground.
Twenty-four were evacuated from the scene but the remaining five
were trapped and killed. Their bodies were found on Sunday, the
first three at about 9 AM and the other two at 3:30 PM.
According to reports, the mine director had decided to organize
rescue efforts himself instead of reporting the incident
straightaway as required. The local work safety supervision
department wasn't aware of it until 11 PM Saturday, when they said
they immediately sent 300 rescuers to the spot.
The colliery is a fully-certified joint stock mine with annual
production capacity of 60,000 tons. Overhaul work was underway when
the accident happened.
The mine director has been detained by police and further
investigations are underway.
Work at Daxing Coal Mine in Guangdong's Xingning City where 123
miners were trapped after flooding over three weeks ago was
suspended after a cave-in in the early hours of Sunday, said rescue
workers.
Experts attributed the cave-in to the mine's long-time immersion
in water, adding that it would endanger the safety of rescuers.
Rescuers described the trapped miners' chances of survival as
slim two days after the accident, and three bodies have been
recovered so far.
(Xinhua News Agency August 29, 2005)