At least 40 people were killed and 74 others are trapped underground after an explosion at a coal mine in northern China yesterday, with a group of rescuers among the missing, officials said.
The gas blast occurred just after midnight at a mine in Linfen City, a coal-rich area in Shanxi Province, the State Administration of Mine Safety said in the latest tragedy to hit China's notoriously unsafe mining industry.
"Thirteen miners have been rescued and sent to the hospital for emergency treatment, 40 have been found dead and 74 are trapped," the statement said.
An Yuanjie (
"After the accident occurred, the mine sent in a rescue team of 32 people, but soon after they were trapped as well," she said.
An said she was unable to give any reason for the initial blast occurred or say why the rescuers also became trapped in the mine.
But late yesterday the official Xinhua news agency said the death toll had risen to 70 and that 26 others were trapped in the mine, but the safety administration had not confirmed the higher death toll.
An refused to speculate on the chances of the trapped workers, only saying that rescuers were doing everything they could to save those missing.
Meanwhile, the administration said it had launched an investigation into the accident, warning that the mine's operators would come under intense scrutiny.
"We must immediately organize the police force, place the mine boss and other people responsible under detention, seal the mine offices and freeze its bank accounts," the statement said.
China's coal mines are among the most dangerous in the world, with safety standards often ignored in the quest for profits and the drive to meet the nation's booming energy demands.
The central government has previously spoken out against endemic corruption in the coal mining industry, with collusion between local government officials and businessmen a particular concern.
More than 4,700 coal miners died in China last year, official figures showed. Independent labor groups put the real toll at closer to 20,000 annually, saying many accidents are covered up.
The mine safety administration said the Ruizhiyuan mine had a license to produce 210,000 tonnes of coal a year, but did not say whether that was being exceeded, as is often the case.
One farmer said residents were being kept away from the mine.
"The mine is locked down by all kinds of departments, including the police, no one can get near," said the farmer, who declined to identify himself.
Local mine safety bureaus in Shanxi did not answer phones for much of the day, while other government departments refused to comment.
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