An initial investigation shows the mine flooding in north
China's Shanxi Province was caused by water pouring in
from a worked-out section of a neighboring mine, said rescue
headquarters Saturday.
Preliminary analysis indicate that miners accidentally dug into
the disused, water-filled section and flooded the shaft in which
they were working, said Li Yizhong, director of the State
Administration of Work Safety.
It's estimated that 200,000 cubic meters of water filled the
mine, and about 50,000 cubic meters have been pumped out, according
to reports from headquarters on Saturday.
The flooding occurred at around 8.30 PM on May 18 at the Xinjing
mine in Zuoyun County, in north China's Shanxi Province.
Rescuers are still pumping although hope of finding any of 56
trapped miners alive is slim.
The number of miners that were trapped has been revised from
57to 56, as trapped miner He Mingzhi used the duty card of He
Jiang, who was also believed to have been trapped but has been
confirmed by police to have left the mine before the accident.
Meanwhile, four more people, including labor contractor Duan
Jingli and three water detection workers at the mine, have been
detained. This brings the number of people in police custody to 19,
said the headquarters Saturday.
Police on Friday arrested Zhang Shengsheng, a key suspect in
charge of mining and work safety of the Xinjing mine, and detained
two bank officials who were suspected to have been involved in the
accident.
A panel authorized by China's State Council was set up at the
Xinjing mine Saturday, which will conduct a thorough investigation
of the accident.
(Xinhua News Agency May 28, 2006)