Coal mine blast toll reaches 27

Source: Xinhua  |   2008-6-15  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

RESCUERS said early yesterday that 27 people were found dead and seven remained trapped after a coal mine blast in north China's Shanxi Province.

The explosion occurred in the facility of the Anxin Coal Mining Co Ltd in Xiaoyi City about 11am on Friday, when 58 miners were working underground.

Fifteen managed to escape on their own and another nine were rescued. All 24 were sent to hospital. The bodies of the 27 dead were pulled out of the shaft about 5am yesterday.

The search was halted at noon yesterday after rescuers found many unused explosives and detonators in the shaft and left the mine.

Other difficulties facing the rescuers were a high density of toxic gas and the collapse of certain areas under the mine.

Wang Jun, director of the State Administration of Work Safety, and Zhang Baoshun, Shanxi's Communist Party chief, arrived in Xiaoyi City yesterday morning to direct the rescue efforts.

Wang said a team would be set up to investigate whether the mine met safety requirements, although it had production permission certificates. The team would also check the source of the explosives.

Zhao Tiechui, the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety's director, said an initial analysis showed Anxin had many problems, ranging from the use of explosives unsuitable for mining to excessive production.

The company also illegally mined unapproved areas and had poor ventilation facilities, Zhao said.

According to the rules, only 29 people were allowed to be working in the shaft at any given time, but 58 workers were in the mine when the accident happened, the coal mine safety administrator said.

Police detained four people - the mine's chief and legal representative Tian Yun, a deputy chief and two workers in charge of blasting operations - according to Ren Fengding, a Xiaoyi City Public Security Bureau official.