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Would-be rescuers died in China mine accident: state media
Beijing (AFP) Dec 8, 2007 Dozens of miners rushed into a Chinese coal mine in a futile bid to save colleagues stricken by a gas explosion, almost doubling the death toll, state media said Saturday. The accident in Hongtong county in northern Shanxi province has claimed at least 104 lives, state television said, in the latest horrific accident to highlight appalling safety conditions in China's coal mining industry. Rescue work has been halted, indicating that rescuers have given up hope of finding any more survivors of the blast, which hit on Wednesday night. "The rescue operation has ended. Officials are now turning to the aftermath and an investigation of the accident," China Central Television said in its mid-day broadcast, quoting the local rescue headquarters. Dozens of miners rushed into the mine after the explosion in a heroic effort to rescue their comrades but many of the would-be rescuers lost their lives, the Beijing News reported. "Many people went to rescue the others, but they blindly gave up their lives," the paper quoted miner Yang Tianming as saying. The West China Daily said about 50 of the dead were off-duty miners -- untrained in rescue work -- who were sent below ground by the mine's managers. Government mine-safety bureau spokeswoman An Yuanjie told AFP earlier that management failed to report the accident for more than five hours while sending in their own unqualified teams. "We didn't know anything about conditions down there," the West China Daily quoted miner Zhao Jinsheng as saying. Zhao said his brother Zhao Jinhai remained among the missing. Official media has blamed the explosion on the mine's bosses, saying they were mining in an unauthorised area of the site to extract more coal than their licence allowed. Police have detained 33 people over the accident and formally arrested five, reports said. Xinhua news agency said the mine's manager Gao Jianmin and its legal representative, Wang Hongliang, were among those detained. The mine-safety spokeswoman had said earlier that 32 people were believed to have entered the mine in the botched rescue bid. Previous reports have said at least 120 people were working there when the disaster occurred, 15 of whom escaped or were rescued. State media on Saturday did not say whether any other miners are believed still trapped in the mine. The government had said previously there may be more missing. Compensation will be arranged for relatives of the victims, Xinhua said, quoting a county official, without stating an amount. China's coal mines are among the most dangerous in the world, with safety standards often ignored in the quest for profits amid sky-rocketing Chinese demand for coal, the source of about 70 percent of China's energy. Related Links Surviving the Pits
China mine toll reaches 104 as anger mounts: official media
Beijing (AFP) Dec 7, 2007The death toll from China's latest major coal mine disaster stood at 104 on Friday, official media said, as hopes for survivors ebbed in a tragedy compounded by bungled rescue efforts. |
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