CHINA / Regional
Rescuers find bodies of 56 trapped miners
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-06-29 08:14
The rescue work in a flooded coal mine in Zuoyun, North China's Shanxi
Province came to an end on Wednesday with the recovery of the last body
of the 56 miners, sources with the rescue headquarters said on Wednesday.
The sources said the investigation into the accident on May 18 is still
under way despite the end of rescue work.
The rescuers have pumped most of the water out of the mine. They found
the first body on June 14 after pumping out water for weeks.
Zhang Baoshun, secretary of the Shanxi Provincial Committee of the
Communist Party of China, praised the rescuers for their efforts and
ordered a thorough investigation into the accident.
A total of 266 workers were working in the shaft when the accident took
place, and 210 of them managed to escape.
The rescue operation was hampered after the mine owner destroyed all the
design drawings and others documents of the mine.
The mine had a license to produce 90,000 tons a year, but had produced
130,000 tons from March 2 to May 18.
Two county leaders of Zuoyun resigned after the accident and the 11 coal
mine owners have been arrested.
Li Yizhong, director of the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS),
said earlier this month that more unsafe coal mines in China must be
closed and urged local governments across the country to learn lessons
from the May 18 coal mine flooding.
China will shut down an additional 7,000 small coal mines to bring their
total number below 10,000 before 2008, according to Li.
Initial investigations found that miners drilled through a sealed area
underground, which triggered the flooding. But this could have been
avoided as the mine showed signs of flooding six days before the accident
occurred. However, miners were ordered by the management to go on working
despite the risk.
Local safety authorities had tried to cover up the fatal accident by
reporting that only five miners were trapped. The mine management also
rented taxis to transfer family members of the trapped miners to the
neighboring Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to prevent them from
speaking to the press.
Most Commented/Read Stories in 48 Hours
Today's Top News
� China urges North Korea not to test missile
� Beijing tops Shanghai in cost-of-living
� Hu inspects the Second Artillery Force
� China opens space center to reporters
� China central banker urges reserve diversification
Top China News
� China, US release official statement on anticorruption
� Leaders optimistic on Sino-Australian FTA talks
� Lack of patents restrains China
� Beijing-Lhasa train tickets selling fast
� Rescuers find bodies of 56 trapped miners
Alibaba is the largest B2B marketplace in the world. Source model ship,
wooden puzzle, one-piece toilet, RC hovercraft, photo album, prom dress,
pocket bike, Vaginal Speculum, Samurai Sword, String Panty and PVC Pipe.
Learn Chinese, Free Chinese Lesson
No comments:
Post a Comment