-
A miner works underground in the Tashan coal mine on the outskirts of Datong, Shanxi province - Source: Reuters -
Related
At least 31 miners were killed and 78 remain trapped 500 metres
underground following a gas blast at a mine in China, state media
said.
The blast ripped through the mine around 2.30 on Saturday morning,
when there were 528 people at work, but 419 got out safely, the
official Xinhua news agency said.
The Xinxing mine is in Heilongjiang province, which borders
Russia.
It is owned by the Heilongjiang Longmei Mining Holding Group,
and produces 12 million tonnes of coal a year, Xinhua said.
Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang is heading to the site of the accident,
and Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have given
instructions about the rescue work, a sign of official concern
about the latest in a long string of disasters in the world's
deadliest mining industry.
Rescue teams are already on site, with 60 people hunting for the
missing miners, Xinhua said.
Lax safety standards and strong demand for resources have made
China's mines the deadliest in the world, despite a government
drive to clamp down on the tiny, unsafe operations where most
accidents occur.
More than 3,000 people died in mine floods, explosions, collapses
and other accidents in 2008 alone.
