Nineteen trapped in flooded China coal mines
CHINA: Rescuers in southwest China raced Wednesday to locate 19
workers trapped in two flooded coal mines, state media said, in the
latest incidents to strike the nation’s notoriously dangerous
collieries. In Guiyang city, the capital of Guizhou province, emergency
teams searched for 11 missing miners at the Fuhong mine, which flooded
on Sunday, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
One body has been recovered. Provincial safety official Pu Jianjiang
was quoted as saying those missing still had a chance of survival. A
preliminary investigation revealed that a design flaw could have been
the cause of the accident. The second incident, which took place late
Tuesday on the border of Guizhou province and the Guangxi region, left
eight workers trapped.
A local official said rescue work was under way at the mine, which
was operating illegally. Last year, 2,433 people died in coal mine
accidents in China, according to official statistics, or a rate of more
than six workers per day.
Labour rights groups, however, say the actual death toll is likely
much higher than official data indicates, partly due to under-reporting
of accidents as mine bosses seek to limit their economic losses and
avoid punishment.
Beijing, Wednesday, Xinhua
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