The flood which submerged a colliery in north China's
Shanxi Province a week ago has claimed the lives of at least 19
miners, with nine others still missing, according to local
officials.
"Rescuers are doing everything they can to search for those
still missing," an official at the command center in Shanxi's
Linxian County told China Daily on Friday. The survival
chances of the trapped are now "very slim."
The official said thick silt in the pit hampered rescue efforts,
as rescuers tried to pump out the slush, mud and coal dust.
According to Xinhua, the underground ventilation system has now
resumed operation and a team is investigating the cause of the
accident.
Officials say the coal mine was supposed to conduct a safety
rectification, which prohibits production, just days before the
accident. No more than nine miners are permitted to enter the
colliery for maintenance of the shaft.
"A total of 58 miners were working in the pit when the accident
took place," said Wang Silai, vice-director of works safety in the
city of Luliang, which supervises the county.
Officials said chaotic management and loopholes in work safety
practices allowed the miners to dig into a previous coal mine,
which led to the sudden flooding.
The owner of the coal mine is now in custody and the provision
of compensation for the victims is underway.
The accident took place at 3:30?PM on March 18 in the
Fanjiashan Coal Mine in Linxian County. Of the 58 miners who were
working under the shaft, only 30 managed to escape.
Meanwhile, a gas explosion in a coal mine in north China's
Hebei Province early this week killed eight miners, injuring
five others.
According to officials with the provincial work safety bureau,
the owner of the No.2 Huzhuang Coal Mine in Zhuolu County tried to
cover up the March 20 tragedy.
Inspectors rushed to the site to deal with the aftermath and to
investigate the cause of the accident.
Li Yizhong, head of State Administration of Work Safety, said
the Chinese Government has vowed to shut down 35,800 unsafe mines
this year including 6,000 collieries around the nation, in a bid to
reduce the death toll from mining accidents.
(China Daily March 25, 2006)