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Roundup: Twenty More Miners Found in NE China Blasted Coal Mine, Death Toll Rising to 161

Posted on: Thursday, 1 December 2005, 09:00 CST

Roundup: Twenty more miners found in NE China blasted coal mine, death toll rising to 161

QITAIHE, Heilongjiang, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- The names of twenty more miners were added Wednesday to the list of the dead or missing in northeast China's coal mine blast, raising the death toll to 161.

The rescue headquarters held a press conference at 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, saying that bodies of ten miners were found on Wednesday afternoon while the whereabouts of ten others were still unknown.

A cross-check showed that 241 miners were working beneath the coal mine shaft when the blast took place, rather than the 221 reported earlier, said a spokesman of the Heilongjiang provincial administration of coal mine safety supervision.

The inaccurate report was ascribed to the disordered management of the Dongfeng Coal Mine, run by the Qitaihe branch of the Longmei Mining (Group) Co., Ltd, said the spokesman.

Urged by the State Council working team, local police carefully reexamined the number of miners who worked in the mine on November 27, when the blast took place.

The result showed that the 20 omitted miners included 19 gas examiners and one powder worker.

The latest death toll includes ten miners who were found dead on Wednesday afternoon.

Seventy-two miners were successfully rescued.

The rescue headquarters mobilized 50 more people Wednesday, who were divided into seven teams to search for the missing miners, though their survival chances are very slim.

As of Wednesday, 100 have been identified by their relatives while compensation work proceeds in full swing.

A spokesman of the Longmei Mining (Group) Co., Ltd. said the relatives of every dead miner will receive 200,000 to 220,000 yuan (about 24,660 to 27,100 US dollars) in compensation.

Li Yizhong, head of the National Bureau of Production Safety Supervision Administration, and major senior officials of the province are organizing the rescue operation at the accident site.

Li urged the rescuers to quicken their search operation and asked the local government to ensure the safety of the coal mines in the province.

The chief leaders of the mine were detained by the local police.

The Heilongjiang provincial government also held an emergency videophone conference ordering production safety checkups in all mines.

Mines which do not meet production safety criteria will be immediately closed down.

Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS

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