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17 dead, police GPS tracks mine officials
21/11/2005 11:57

Shanghai Daily news

Rescuers yesterday confirmed 17 men were killed in two separate coal mine mishaps in Hebei and Guizhou provinces and said they were trying to reach another 13.
Police detained at least five officials and safety employees.
In Guizhou's Shuicheng County, rescue workers retrieved the bodies of 10 miners from the Shagou Coal Mine. Another six miners were feared killed.
A gas blast rocked the mine on Friday morning, trapping 16 workers, the provincial coal mine administration said. Twenty-five men were underground at the time, and nine of them escaped.
The mine owner Su Xuchu, production director Chen Shirong and two safety executives were detained, authorities said.
Su, Chen and other mine officials fled but the global positioning system helped police find some of them.
Police were seeking Li Xindong and Su Xiankun, two deputy directors, and Su Mingxing, a safety employee.
The mine was operating illegally; it has been ordered suspended while upgrading its capacity from 30,000 tons to 60,000 tons.
In Hebei Province, meanwhile, authorities in Neiqiu County yesterday found seven workers dead in a mine that flooded on Saturday. Another seven were missing in the Yuanda Coal Mine. The business owner was detained and his bank account frozen.