122 workers still missing in Chinese mine accident

Rescuers yesterday recovered the body of one miner from a flooded southern China coal shaft as hopes of finding 122 still trapped underground faded, state media reported

Authorities detained 11 people believed responsible for the accident, including the owner, a manager, the board chairman and chief technician of the mine, and suspended two mayors who had jurisdiction over mines in the area, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Only four miners managed to escape after the tunnel 480m underground became flooded on Sunday at the privately owned Daxing Colliery in Wanghuai Township, Meizhou City, in Guangdong Province.

The body of one miner was raised to the surface early yesterday, and rescuers continued to search for 122 others, Xinhua said. Late on Tuesday, officials revised the number of miners they believed were trapped underground from 102 to 123, it said.

The chances of finding any survivors was growing smaller everyday, Xinhua quoted Guangdong Vice Governor You Ningfeng (游寧豐) as saying.

"Currently, they are still trapped about 480m underground. The chance of survival for the trapped miners is slim after being stranded for more than 55 hours," he was quoted as saying.

The Daxing mine was operating without a license and despite a government ban on mining in the area following a flooding incident at another facility on July 14, Xinhua said.

Mine bosses "were just gambling with the lives of the miners," Guangdong Communist Party Secretary Zhang Dejiang (張德江) was quoted as saying by the South China Morning Post.

Some 65 mine managers fled immediately after the accident -- including the 11 detained by police yesterday -- but most had returned by late Tuesday, Xinhua reported.

The report did not give the names of the mine officials.

Meizhou City Mayor He Zhengba (何正拔) and Xingning City Mayor Zeng Xianghai (曾祥海) have been suspended over the accident for failing to supervise coal mine production in the area, it said.

A miner and an official with the Xingning City Coal Industry Bureau were also given disciplinary warnings for failing to perform their duties during the rescue work, Xinhua said.

An estimated 15 million to 20 million cubic meters of water had rushed into the shaft, but rescuers were still unsure what triggered the flood, Xinhua said. Four pumps were working around the clock to extract the floodwater and another five were expected to boost efforts yesterday, Xinhua said.