Rescue work of the two gas outburst accidents on Thursday and Friday in
north China's Hebei Province is going slowly, with 18 miners still missing
underground.
The two accidents happened Thursday in Dashucun coal mine and Friday noon in
the Tao'er coal mine respectively, in which ten miners have been confirmed dead
and 18 others are still missing, said rescuers, adding that the survival chances
for the trapped are very slim.
The gas density in both coal mines is still beyond safety limits and the
explosion caused a large amount of coal powder, said a spokesman for the
rescuing headquarters.
Rescuers have to use mechanic fans to dissipate gas in the shaft and then
sprinkle water on the powder to prevent the particles from floating in air
before they can search for the trapped miners.
They are also required not to use any mechanical equipments to avoid hurting
the trapped workers.
The Dashucun coal mine is among the country's highest gas density coal mines.
Rescuers have to stop clearing the debris immediately when the gas density is
detected to exceed the safe level, a spokesman with the coal mine said.
By 17:00 pm yesterday, 113.4 tons of coal powder has been cleared from the
coal mine.
The government of Hebei Province has decided to install gas monitoring system
to all coal mines this year to prevent gas blast and make use of the gas
resources.