A gas explosion killed twenty-one miners early Friday morning at a coal mine in northwestern China, the government said, but the exact cause was not immediately known. More than a dozen other miners were able to escape.
The blast occurred at around 1:40 a.m. local time at the Baiyanggou coal mine in Hutubi County of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, according to Zhou Xiuling, a spokesman for the State Administration of Work Safety. A total of 34 miners were working underground when it happened.
Thirteen miners managed to escape the mine, including one who was freed by rescue workers, but his or her condition was not immediately known. The bodies of the 21 other miners were recovered later in the day, officials said, giving no details about what may have caused the accident.
During rescue efforts, temperatures dropped to -5 C, China News Service reported.
Immediately after the explosion, a team entered the mineshaft on Friday morning to ascertain conditions before launching a rescue operation, the report said. Later that afternoon, China Central Television reported that a rescue team was about 300 meters away from where the miners were trapped. The one miner was then rescued.
The rescued worker was in a coma when he was found underground, and he has been sent to the hospital for further medical treatment.
The State Administration of Work Safety said on Friday that the coal mine was once shut down in June because of safety problems.
The coal mine illegally restarted production before the problems were rectified, and that led to the accident, the administration said in a statement.
The administration required coal mines nationwide to enhance safety rules and prohibit illegal production.
The Baiyanggou mine has an annual output of 90,000 tons, and it has been in production since August 2007, China News Service reported.
While safety conditions at mines in China have improved according to statistic from the Chinese government, they are still ranked the most dangerous with 1,384 deaths reported in 2012, a significant decrease from the 1,973 fatalities in 2011. The Chinese government reported 2,433 fatalities in 2010 and 2,631 in 2009.
China shut down scores of small mines in recent years to improve safety and efficiency in the mining industry. The country has also ordered all mines to build emergency shelter systems which are to be equipped with machines to produce oxygen and air conditioning, protective walls and airtight doors to protect workers against toxic gases and other hazardous factors.
One of the worst mining accidents in China in recent years happened in November 2009 when 104 workers were killed after several explosions at a coal mine in Heilongjiang province.
On Dec 6, Premier Li Keqiang ordered intensified efforts to improve work safety standards following a deadly explosion last month in Shandong province that left 62 dead.
He urged a careful review of a nationwide work-safety overhaul this year to learn from deadly accidents.
"Production safety is a life-and-death matter and a red line that must not be crossed," Li said in a written statement as a work safety committee of the State Council, China's Cabinet, held a plenary session in Beijing.
The country should emphasize the prevention of accidents, regularly conduct safety inspections and move to establish a permanent mechanism for ensuring work safety, Li said.
Saturday 14 December 2013
http://www.china.org.cn/china/2013-12/14/content_30893449.htm
http://wireupdate.com/gas-explosion-kills-21-miners-in-northwest-china.html
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