China Steps Up Investigation into Fatal Coal Mine Flooding in Guangdong Province

China steps up investigation into fatal coal mine flooding in Guangdong province

XINGNING, Guangdong, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) — The Chinese government is stepping up efforts to find out the real cause of a fatal coal mine flooding that trapped 123 miners in southern Guangdong Province 10 days ago. The special investigation team set up by the State Council to investigate the fatal accident established three reporting stations Thursday, hoping to collect more clues about the colliery accident at the Daxing Coal Mine in Xingning City on Aug. 7.

People are encouraged to report any clue relating to dereliction of duty, breach of duty or corruption behaviors of people who have connections with the coal mine. The three reporting stations are located in front of the gates of the Xingning city government office building, the Xingning city tobacco company and the Huanghuai Town government office building.

The accident occurred at 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 7 in the Daxing Coal Mine of Xingning City. 123 miners were reported missing. Only four escaped. To date, rescuers recovered the bodies of three trapped miners.

The State Council set up a special team to investigate the accident on Aug. 11.

Li Zhilun, head of the team and minister of Supervision, said that the team will not only investigate the direct cause of the accident, but also determine whether there was dereliction of duty in organizing production and supervising the mine’s operation.

Violation of safety production rules has been blamed as the main cause of the accident. Eleven people, including the owner, manager, board chairman and chief technician of the Daxing Coal Mine, were caught attempting to flee after the accident.

Zeng Yungao, chairman of the board of directors of the Dajingli Coal Co., Ltd. which runs the Daxing Coal Mine, has been under house arrest for investigation of the accident.

Mayor of Meizhou city, which administers Xingning city, and mayor of Xingning were suspended from posts and two other officials were given disciplinary warnings for dereliction of duty in carrying rescue work, according to government reports.

Top Chinese leaders have showed great concern over the coal mine flooding.

Shortly after the accident occurred, President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao gave important instructions to urge the local government and departments concerned to “take substantial steps and spare no efforts” to save the trapped miners.

Zhang Dejiang, secretary of the Guangdong provincial committee of the Communist Party of China and Hua Jianmin, State Councilor and Secretary-general of the State Council, also ordered rescuers to try every means to minimize the number of casualties.

Chen Jianhui, director of Guangdong Provincial Administration of Work Safety, made an apology at a national coal mine safety conference Tuesday for his administration’s failures in supervision.

Chen said the accident revealed many oversights in the coal mine safety supervision work.