As of Monday morning, rescuers have recovered bodies of 16
miners trapped underground after a sudden colliery coal and gas
eruption in east China's Jiangxi Province, and said there is a
little hope for the survival of three other missing miners.
By 7:45?AM Monday, the missing miners have been trapped in
the collapsed mine for over 30 hours, said the rescuers who are
still cleaning up cinder and collapsed fragments from the colliery
tunnel.
The accident occurred at 11:45?PM on Saturday in Jianxin
Colliery based in Shangtang Township of Fengcheng City when 283
miners were working underground. About 360 tons of coal fragments
filled up a 30-meter-long tunnel.
By Monday morning, rescuers have cleared 22 meters of the
tunnel. The underground gas density is about 0.2-0.25 percent,
which is within the safety permit, said an official in charge of
the Fengcheng Coal Mining Bureau.
The provincial commission for work safety has ordered all
state-owned coal mines and other highly dangerous industries to
stop production to check up potential safety hazards, without
indicating when the operation can be resumed.
The Jianxin Coal Mine, established in 1958 and affiliated to
Jiangxi Coal Group Co., is a large state-owned mine.
The mine, troubled by high gas density, had experienced more
than 180 gas outburst accidents since the 1970s. The last two
accidents in November 2003 and August 2006 claimed 49 lives and
five lives respectively.
Since 2004, the bureau has invested more than 200 million yuan
(about US$27 million) in projects to make use of gas. It has
succeeded in generating electricity with gas.
The mine company has informed its insurer to provide
compensations to families of the victims.
(Xinhua News Agency October 15, 2007)