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Blast traps 160 miners in northeast China colliery

Posted on: Sunday, 27 November 2005, 20:45 CST

BEIJING (Reuters) - An explosion in a coal mine in China's northeastern province of Heilongjiang has trapped about 160 miners underground, state media said on Monday.

The blast was reported on Sunday at Dongfeng Coal Mine, run by a branch of the Heilongjiang Longmei Mining (Group) Co. Ltd., the Xinhua news agency quoted the provincial coal mine safety administration as saying.

More than 40 miners escaped overnight, but at least 200 were working underground at the time of the blast, Xinhua said, citing the mine's roll books.

The mine explosion is the latest disaster to strike Heilongjiang, whose capital city, Harbin, was held hostage for five days by a toxic spill coursing through the river that provides its water supply, forcing a shut-down of tap water.

The slick, caused by an explosion at a chemical plant in nearby Jilin province about two weeks ago, passed through the Songhua River and out of Harbin at the weekend. Taps were turned back on Sunday.

China's mining industry is the biggest and the deadliest in the world. Accidents killed more than 2,700 miners in the first half of the year.

The country has launched safety campaigns to clean up and shut down illegal mines, but booming demand and high coal prices has driven some mine owners to ignore regulations.

Longmei Group is a conglomerate of four state-owned major coal businesses in the northeastern province, with a registered capital of 13 billion yuan ($1.6 billion).

Source: REUTERS

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