Colliery gas explosion kills 24 in coal-rich China province
27/11/2006 16:31
Twenty-four people were confirmed dead in a colliery gas blast yesterday
in north China's coal-rich province of Shanxi, the local government said
today.
Rescuers had found all the dead bodies and wrapped up rescue work
Monday morning, said a spokesman with the provincial workplace safety
administration.
He said the accident occurred at around 6:40 p.m. at Luweitan
Colliery in Yaodu district in the city of Linfen.
Investigators said a power
failure earlier Sunday afternoon had caused a breakdown of the ventilation
system in the pit.
Luweitan colliery is designed to produce 150,000 tons a
year, but its production permit and safety license have both expired.
Police
have detained the mine owner but its general manager is on the run.
The past
weekend has been tragic with two other deadly mine disasters killing at least 53
people.
Twenty-one miners were confirmed dead and six others missing in a
coal mine gas blast Saturday in Jixi of northeast China's Heilongjiang
Province.
In another tragedy, 32 miners were killed and 28 injured in a
colliery gas explosion in Fuyuan of southwest China's Yunnan
Province.
xinhua
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