Hopes Fade for China's Missing Miners

The death toll from China's latest coal mine disaster is now 92. About 530 workers were in the mine at the time of the blast at Hegang in Heilongjiang province.

About 16 miners were trapped or unaccounted for on Sunday, and hopes for their rescue were fading. Chinas state-run media blames dense gas and collapsed tunnels.

The companys website says safety staff knew gas in the mine had reached dangerous levels and rushed to evacuate the miners when the blast erupted.

But the company changed its tune when questioned by reporters.

[Zhang Jinguang, Longmei Group]:
"As far as I know, there was no sign that this accident might happen. If there had been, we could have controlled it."




Police in Hegang kept a close eye on locals near the mine and people organized by the government sought to prevent reporters speaking to residents.

[Mr Liu, Friend of Victims]:
"Because our fellow miners have died, it is very painful for me."

[Mrs Yu, Friend of the Victims]:
"I know two of the victims, and one of them hasn't come up yet. They're my friends."

The Xinxing mine in Hegang lies near China's border with Russia and produced over a million tons of coal in the first ten months of this year.

Compared to other manual jobs, Chinese coal miners can earn relatively high wages. This tempts workers and farmers into rickety and poorly ventilated shafts.

In the first half of this year, more than 1,100 people died in officially recorded coal mine accidents, according to the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety.

Earlier state media reports show Hegang accounted for for 88 of those deaths.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• NTD
• NTDTV
• China
• Mine
• Missing
• Death toll
• Coal mine disaster

[tsalexey544]

sad....