Reuters AlertNet Lite - China mine toll blamed on lack of rescue training

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China mine toll blamed on lack of rescue training

08 Dec 2007 04:12:41 GMT
Source: Reuters

BEIJING, Dec 8 (Reuters) - About 50 people with no rescue training rushed to extricate colleagues trapped in an underground mine in north China but never resurfaced, resulting in a death toll of more than 100, state media said on Saturday.

The bodies of at least 105 people have so far been recovered from the Xinyao mine in Hongtong county in coal-rich Shanxi province, which was hit by an explosion on Wednesday.

Police have detained 33 coal mine managers and officials after they delayed reporting the blast until five hours later. Authorities have also suspended the mine's licence and frozen its bank accounts.

Mine owners tried to launch their own rescue operation, which newspapers said probably increased casualties. Miner Yang Yingcai accused the authorities of attempting to cover up the accident.

About 50 young miners and security guards "blindly" rushed to the rescue of their trapped colleagues, but never returned, the Beijing News said.

"We never received any rescue training," the Beijing News quoted miner Mao Caoliang as saying. "We did not know what to do or what not to do when inside the mine. No one told us what to do when faced with an emergency."

"We carried oxygen masks with us but did not know how to use them. Many suffocated," Mao added.

More than 120 rescuers were searching for victims. There were 15 survivors.

Xu Zhancheng, chief engineer of the Shanxi provincial bureau of coal mine safety, said a preliminary investigation suggested a coal dust explosion resulted in the accident.

The Beijing Youth Daily said the mine failed to install a gas detection system.

And explosives were stocked in a storeroom underground.

"I'll leave this place and never work in a mine again," the China Daily quoted Han Xinyue, 38, from the northern province of Hebei, as saying.

The village-run mine was licensed, but the No. 9 pit, where about 60 miners were working, had not been authorised for production.

The mine produces about 210,000 tonnes of coal a year.

China has been trying to tighten safety regulations but its coal industry is still the world's deadliest, claiming close to 5,000 lives last year.

China will soon place on trial 11 defendants accused over a mine disaster in November 2005 that killed 171 people, Xinhua also reported. (Reporting by Li Jiansheng and Benjamin Kang Lim;Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

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Last updated:Sat Dec 8 04:19:08 2007