Eighteen miners were killed in a coal mine gas leak in Ningwu
County, north China's Shanxi Province.
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A collapse happened in the ground within the mining area of
Dahuiyao Coal Mine in Ningwu County around yesterday noon, which
opened a permanently closed area beneath the coal mine shaft and
caused a fire, producing large amount of harmful gas, said sources
from Shanxi Provincial Bureau of Work Safety.
Altogether 34 miners were working beneath the shaft when the
accident happened. Three of them escaped the site of the
accident.
Rescuers later lifted 14 more miners out of the shaft, of whom,
one died in hospital. By 10:00 AM, the rescuers found the remains
of the 17 other miners trapped in the mishap.
With vast coal reserves, Shanxi Province, commonly known as "sea of
coal, is the biggest coal producer in China. However, lots of fatal
accidents in association with the mining industry occur in the
province each year.
One recent accident with big fatalities in the same county fell on
July 7 when a blast caused by explosives illegally stored at
villager's home happened, killing 47 people, including school
children, and injuring 28 more.
(Xinhua News Agency August 5, 2006)