Six killed in coal mine accident in eastern China

Six killed in coal mine accident in eastern China

2011-11-30 22:09:52 GMT+7 (ICT)

NANCHANG, CHINA (BNO NEWS) -- Six people were killed on early Tuesday morning when a lift collapsed at a coal mine in eastern China, local authorities said on Wednesday. One person was injured.

The accident happened at around 8.30 a.m. local time at the privately-run Xinshan Coal Mine in Ouli township in the city of Xinyu, which is located in Jiangxi province. Seven miners were on the lift when it malfunctioned and fell to the bottom of the mine pit.

Local authorities said six miners were found dead while the seventh was found alive and taken to a local hospital in a stable condition. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

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.

Earlier this month, 34 miners were killed as a result of a gas leak at the Sizhuang Coal Mine in Qujing, an industrial city located in Shizong County of Yunnan province. The mine was operating illegally, having had its license revoked a year ago.

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.

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