China

Death toll rises to 32 in coal mine gas leak

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-19 07:54

YUZHOU, Henan - The death toll from a gas leak at a coal mine in Central China's Henan province rose to 32 on Monday after six more bodies were found.

Five others remain trapped underground, a spokesman with the rescue headquarters said.

Rescuers said the chances of survival were very slim for the trapped miners, who could be buried in coal dust.

The pit was smothered by 2,500 tons of coal dust released in the gas leak. The coal dust, which left a high concentration of gas underground, blocked access to the mine, hampering the rescue effort, according to the rescue headquarters.

The accident occurred at 6:03 am on Saturday when 276 miners were working underground at the mine in Yuzhou city. A total of 239 workers managed to escape.

An initial investigation found that 173,500 cubic meters of gas had leaked in the accident.

China National Radio quoted rescue headquarters as having said that the cleanup and rescue operations would conclude on Tuesday.

Public reaction on the Internet has been swift and bitter, with many making unfavorable comparisons to the situation in Chile, where 33 miners were successfully rescued last week after being trapped underground for 69 days.

"The Chilean miracle has signed the death warrant of the mine safety system in China," one netizen, who uses the handle Xiaodaoren, wrote on Sina.com's popular Twitter-like microblogging service.

"If we don't fundamentally resolve these mine security issues, the accidents will not stop and we will be unable to avoid deaths and injuries."

Another netizen, Cheng Jing 33, wrote: "The difference with Chile is enormous. The mines here are not inspected enough and are poorly managed."

And Yunfeng Tongxue wrote: "The Yuzhou miners are not as lucky as those in Chile."

An underground emergency shelter containing provisions is believed to have played a pivotal role in sustaining the trapped miners in Chile. For more than 10 days before the miners were located, the shelter provided each miner with two spoonfuls of fish, half a biscuit and half a glass of milk every 48 hours, according to media reports.

Chen Jiaguo, a miner who escaped the Henan gas outburst, told the Beijing News that safety zones in the mine were largely filled with debris - not survival equipment and basic necessities.

"There was no rescue equipment in the tunnels, no food or water and, most of the time, the safety zones were filled with scrap metal and debris," the paper quoted Chen as having said.

The State Council this year ordered all mines to establish emergency shelter and ventilation systems to reduce gas concentrations by 2013 or incur punishment.

China Daily, Xinhua and AFP