Rescue work at a coalmine in Liaoning Province came to an end on Thursday
with the recovery of a further five bodies. Altogether 27 workers
lost their lives in the tragedy.
Efforts will now focus on handling the aftermath and
investigating the cause of a blast, said Wang Daguang, secretary of
the coal mine's committee of the Communist Party of China.
A gas explosion occurred at around 8:15 AM Wednesday in the
Wulong Coal Mine of Fuxin Mining Industrial Group which resulted in
22 deaths and 36 others injured.
Rescuers found the body of another miner during their search for
the four missing miners, said Wang.
All the injured miners are being treated at the General Hospital
of the Fuxin Mining Industrial Group and Ping'an Hospital of Fuxin
city.
Five of the 36 injured were in a critical condition, said Chen
Shili, head of the publicity department of the general
hospital.
The tragedy occurred at the workface of No.331 area of the
Wulong coal mine which is about 900 meters below ground. More than
180 rescuers were involved in the search for the missing
miners.
The Wulong coalmine, owned by the Fuxin Mining Industrial Group,
is approximately 150 km northwest of the provincial capital
Shenyang
Having been in operation since 1957 the Wulong mine produces
more than two million tons of coal annually. The entire mining
group has stopped production for work safety inspections to be
carried out.
56 bodies recovered
Rescuers in north China's Shanxi Province have recovered all the 56
bodies trapped in a flooded colliery for more than a month, the
State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) said on
Wednesday.?
The flooding occurred on May 18 in Zuoyun where 266 miners were
working at the time. Reports state 210 workers escaped.?
After the accident, two county leaders of Zuoyun
resigned?and the 11 coal mine owners have been arrested.
According to the initial investigations,?miners drilled
through a sealed area underground, which triggered the flooding.
But this could have been avoided as the mine showed signs of
flooding six days before the accident occurred. However, miners
were ordered by the management to go on working despite the
risk.
(Xinhua News Agency June 29, 2006)