Four miners were killed, three more missing and five others
injured in a coal mine tunnel collapse in Luntai, a county in
southern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Tuesday
afternoon.
The accident took place around 4?PM on Tuesday at Baoshan
Coal Mine, some 60 km away from the county seat of Luntai, while
miners were working to seal off a conflagration, said sources from
the Southern Branch of Xinjiang Regional Bureau of Coal Mine Safety
Supervision.
The cause of the accident is still unknown, as the toxic gas
concentration in the shaft has exceeded the standard limit,
preventing rescuers from going down the shaft to find out the fact,
said the sources.
Being informed of the accident, workers from the Southern Branch
of Xinjiang Regional Bureau of Coal Mine Safety Supervision rushed
to the site of the accident to offer help in the rescue
operation.
All the injured were hospitalized.
Investigation over the cause of the accident is underway.
Baoshan Coal Mine is a private coal mine capable of producing
90,000 tons of coal a year.
(Xinhua News Agency May 16, 2007)