Coal Mine Flooding Kills Four in China’s Henan Province

Text of report in English by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China news agency)

Zhengzhou, 20 July: Three of the seven miners trapped in Sunday’s [17 July] coal mine flooding in Henan Province have survived and the other four are confirmed dead, the local government said Wednesday.

After more than 60 hours of search and rescue, rescuers had lifted all the three surviving miners to the ground and retrieved the bodies of the four dead by dawn Wednesday, said a spokesman with Xin’an county government.

He said the three surviving miners are being treated and are basically out of danger.

The flooding occurred at 8:00 a.m. [0000 gmt] Sunday in Xigou Coal Mine in Xin’an County. Rescuers worked around the clock to pump out flood water and fan fresh air into the shaft in the past three days.

Local police are investigating into the case and hunting for the owner of the mine who fled after the accident. The mine was undergoing safety rectification when the flooding occurred.

The county government has ordered all local small coal mines to suspend production for safety check-ups.