• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Gas Accident Kills 17 in North China Coal Mine

Posted on: Wednesday, 7 September 2005, 09:00 CDT

Gas accident kills 17 in north China coal mine

TAIYUAN, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Seventeen miners were confirmed dead and two others injured in a gas accident Tuesday in north China's Shanxi Province, local coal mine safety officials said early on Wednesday.

The accident, which investigators identified to be gas combustion, occurred at 11:20 a.m. Tuesday in a pit of the Zhike Township Coal Mine, located in Zhongyang county of Luliang, a city 240 kilometers from the provincial capital Taiyuan.

Twenty-six miners were working underground, only nine of whom survived.

Rescuers say most victims were obviously burnt or choked to death, a clear sign of gas combustion. They detected little damage to the shaft and underground lanes.

A spokesman with the local mine safety administration said the accident was a result of unauthorized production. The mine, run by the Zhike township government, had been suspended operation for safety reasons but its owners stealthily resumed operation on Monday without being authorized.

Six mine executives have been put under the control of local police and authorities have frozen the mining company's bank accounts.

Shanxi is a major base for China's coal production but also reports frequent coal mine accidents. In the first seven months of this year, the province witnessed 90 coal mine accidents that claimed 316 lives in total.

Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS

More News in this Category