Eight miners were killed in two coal mine accidents in central
Hunan Province, the local work safety bureau said on Friday.
Four miners, including the owner Li Mingguang, were choked to
death by poisonous gas in Luwei Coal Mine in Dashi town of Leiyang
city at 8 PM on Wednesday.
Another four died when Zhaipochong Coal Mine in Yizhang county
caved in on Thursday morning.
Investigators found that the two mines had no production
licenses and had continued to operate even after being ordered by
local governments to close.
Officials said that mine owners, encouraged by the surge in coal
price, were quickly expanding production to meet the rising demand
from heating companies.
In an earlier accident, seven miners were still trapped
underground on Monday in northeast Liaoning Province.
Chances of their survival appear slim as the tunnels were more
than 50 meters under the current water level, local officials
said.
Coal mines in China suffer frequent accidents, including
flooding, cave-ins and gas blasts, due to poor safety conditions
and lax supervision by local governments.
There were 2,945 coal mine accidents in 2006, in which 4,746
people died - a drop of 20 percent from the previous year but
nevertheless equivalent to 13 miners dead per day, according to the
the State Administration of Work Safety.
(Xinhua News Agency January 13, 2007)