Gas leak at mine in southwest China kills at least 21

[News_Editor]

Gas leak at mine in southwest China kills at least 21

2011-11-11 15:33:54 GMT+7 (ICT)

KUNMING, CHINA (BNO NEWS) -- At least 21 people have been killed after methane gas leaked at a coal mine in southwest China on Thursday morning, state-run media reported on Friday. Nearly two dozen others remain missing.

The accident happened at around 6.30 a.m. local time on Thursday at the Sizhuang Coal Mine in Qujing, an industrial city located in Shizong County of Yunnan province. A total of 43 miners were working underground at the mine's two platforms when the accident happened.

According to the state-run Xinhua news agency, the incident happened when methane gas leaked into the shaft of one of the mine's two platforms but quickly spread to the other platform. Initial reports of a gas explosion were later denied by municipal officials.

As of Friday afternoon, local authorities said 21 miners have been confirmed dead while 22 others remain missing and are feared to have been killed as well. More than 430 rescue workers have rushed to the scene to assist in the rescue operation, Xinhua said.

"We must rescue the trapped miners at all costs," said Zhao Tiechui, deputy director of the State Administration of Work Safety. "It is an accident that should not have happened. It exposes a lack of supervision by the local government. We must learn a lesson from this accident."

Tan Xiaopeng, a fire control official in charge of the rescue effort at the scene, said the efforts to find the other miners were being hampered because the methane gas levels remain high. Ventilation machines have been put in place to pump out the gas.

The mining industry in Shizong County represents the majority of the county's income, making up about 65 percent of the county's industrial output and contributing 54 percent to its gross domestic product (GDP).

Safety conditions at mines in China have significantly improved in recent years but they remain among the world's most dangerous with 1,083 fatalities in the first seven months of 2011 alone. There were 2,433 fatalities in 2010 and 2,631 in 2009.

On October 29, a total of 29 mine workers were killed when a gas explosion ripped through the Xialiuchong Coal Mine in Hengyang, the second largest city in the country's Hunan Province. Five people were rescued and taken to a local hospital while a sixth miner was able to free himself.

China in recent years shut down scores of small mines to improve safety and efficiency in the mining industry. The country has also ordered all mines to build emergency shelter systems by June 2013 which are to be equipped with machines to produce oxygen and air conditioning, protective walls and airtight doors to protect workers against toxic gases and other hazardous factors.

The first manned test of such a permanent underground chamber was carried out in August when around 100 people - including managers, engineers, miners, medical staff, and the chamber's developers - took part in a 48-hour test at a mine owned by the China National Coal Group in the city of Shuozhou in northern China's Shanxi Province.

One of the worst mining accidents in China in recent years happened in November 2009 when 104 workers were killed after several explosions at a coal mine in Heilongjiang province.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-11-11