Coal mine blast kills at least 23 in Shanxi
3/2/2006 9:30
An explosion at a state-owned coal mine in northern China killed at
least 23 miners and poisoned 53 others with carbon monoxide, the government said
yesterday.
A total of 697 miners were in the pit when the blast occurred at
about 7pm on Wednesday at Sihe Coal Mine in Shanxi Province. It is owned by the
Jincheng Mining Group, said an official with the provincial coal mine safety
supervision bureau on condition of anonymity.
The official said search and
rescue work ended yesterday at 7am and that poisoned miners were hospitalized.
One miner was in serious condition, the source said after talking to hospital
officials.
A preliminary investigation showed the explosion occurred in an
airtight area in the pit.
Sihe coal Mine, one of the largest collieries in
coal-rich Shanxi, produces 10.8 million tons of coal a year.
The central
government has tried to clean up the mining industry. More than 5,500 people
were killed nationwide last year in mining accidents.
Shanxi is the country's
biggest coal producing province. It has already closed more than 4,000 coal
mines and punished about 1,200 people involved in illegal mining, according to
the provincial government.
The province has also found that 952 government
workers and officials of state-owned enterprises hold shares valued at a total
of 156 million yuan (US$19 million) in local coal mines.
The central
government has ordered officials to sell off investments in coal mines across
the country. Thus far, 947 in Shanxi have sold their stakes for a total of 151
million yuan.
Shanxi produced 543 million tons of coal last year, up 10
percent from 2004.
However, there were 179 fatal coal mine accidents, killing
a total of 468 miners last year.
Last month, the central government said it
would close 5,290 coal mines for safety violations in a campaign to reduce
accidents in the mining sector.
It has also ordered mines to post safety
bonds of up to US$750,000 to pay compensation for deaths and other
accident-related expenses.
Agencies
|
