Unsafe practices blamed in deadly Chinese mine blast

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Unsafe practices blamed in deadly Chinese mine blast

BEIJING -- An initial investigation into China's worst mine accident in nearly three years blames "chaotic" management for sending too many workers underground and disregarding safety measures, state media said Sunday. The blast killed 43 people.
The official Xinhua News Agency said that though the Xiaojiawan coal mine in southwestern Sichuan province was licensed to operate, it had been exceeding its production capacity in violation of safety standards.

Rescuers were still searching for three miners who remained trapped underground after the explosion on Wednesday afternoon in the coal-rich city of Panzhihua, but their chances of survival were slim. State media said the three workers were believed to be located at the center of the blast.

A preliminary probe found that the accident happened because production had not been stopped despite a high density of gas and that safety monitoring equipment was inadequate, Xinhua said.

More miners had been sent to work underground than were allowed to, the report cited the head of the State Administration of Work Safety, Yang Dongliang, as saying.

Police have detained the mine owners, and the Sichuan government has launched a province-wide safety check on all coal mines and pledged to shut down those with safety hazards.

There were 154 miners working at the mine when the explosion occurred, and 108 survivors have been pulled to the surface.

It is China's deadliest mine accident since November 2009 when 108 people were killed in an explosion in a mine in Heilongjiang province.

Xinhua said the rescue work was dangerous because of high temperatures in the mine and dense carbon monoxide that meant only mask-wearing paramedics were able to enter the shaft.

The news agency quoted one miner, Xu Changyong, as saying he heard the explosion and then ash started coming out of his air compressor before he scrambled out of the mine.

Of the miners who made it to the surface, 50 are suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning and seven are in critical condition, Xinhua said.

The mine is owned by Zhengjin Industry and Trade Co. Ltd. and the owners were in police custody for investigation, the Panzhihua city government said.

Coal mine accidents are common in China, where work safety rules are often ignored. Last year, 1,973 miners were killed in coal mine accidents in the country, but that was down 19 percent from the previous year as authorities continue to beef up safety measures.

The State Administration of Work Safety said recently that it planned to close more than 600 small coal mines — considered more dangerous than larger mines — this year to further reduce fatalities.

Unsafe practices blamed in deadly Chinese mine blast - The China Post

Chinese mine accidents are legend.

These have been happening all the time, even during the Mao era.


2005

On February 14, 2005 Over 214 miners were killed in the 2005 Sunjiawan mine disaster
On March 19, 2005 an explosion at the Xishui Colliery and neighboring Kangjiayao coal mines killed 72.
On July 11, 2005 an explosion at the Shenlong mine killed 83.
On November 27, 2005 171 miners were killed by a blast in the Dongfeng Coal mine in Qitaihe city, Heilongjiang province. The mine owner (plus 5 others) was later tried in court for negligence and sentenced to 6 years in prison.
On December 8, 2005, a gas explosion kills 54 miners and traps 22 in the Liuguantun Mine, Tangshan Kaiping district.

2006

On February 1, 2006 the Sihe coal mine in Shanxi killed 23 miners.
On May 18, 2006 an Induation disaster at the Xinjing coal mine in the Shanxi providence killed 56 miners.
On April 29, 2006, 27 miners were killed in an explosion in the privately owned Wayaobao mine in Shaanxi province. Fires, floods and explosions claim about 5,000 deaths every year in Chinese coal mines.
On July 15, 2006 at the Linjiazhuang coal mine in Shanxi an explosion killed 50 people with seven more missing.
On November 5, 2006 at the Jiaojiazhai coal mine in Shanxi an explosion killed 40 with seven more missing.

2007

In March 2007, over 100 were killed in 8 tragedies.
In August 2007, 181 miners died when heavy rains flooded two mines in eastern Shandong province.
A coal mine gas leak on November 11, 2007 had at least 35 confirmed deaths.
On December 6, 2007, 105 workers died in a mine blast in Shanxi province's Hongtong county.

2008

On April 11, 2008, a gas explosion resulted in 14 miners dead and two reported missing in the No. 3 Coal Mine in Huludao's Shaguotan village.
On September 4, 2008, twenty-four miners were killed and six injured in Fuxin, Liaoning province.
On September 28, 2008, 31 miners were killed and nine were missing in Dengfeng city, Henan province.
On November 10, 2008, four were killed and thirteen injured Wannian Coal Mine of Jizhong Energy Group Co., Ltd. in Handan City, Hebei Province.
3,000 workers were killed in Chinese coal mines during 2008

2009

On February 22, 77 miners died and over 100 were injured in an explosion at the Tunlan coal mine in Shanxi. The blast was China's worst industrial accident in a year, until the November, 2009, Heilongjiang mine explosion.
On March 20, six miners were killed and four were missing at the Lianfa Coal Mine in Qinglong County, Qianxinan Buyei and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou province
On April 4, twelve miners died in the Jinli Coal Mine in Xingnong Township, Jidong County, Jixi City after water flowed in from an abandoned coal mine.
On April 17, eighteen miners die in a dynamite explosion in a dynamite warehouse of a coal mine in Chenzhou city, Yongxing.
On May 2, seven people died of gas poisoning at the Xinfeng Coal Mine, Dengfeng city
On May 15, ten miners die in a mine blast in a licensed private Chashan Coal Mine in Zhaotong city, in Zhenxiong county, Yunnan province.
On May 16, eleven miners die of asphyxiation in Shuozhou, Shaanxi province.
On May 29, a gas explosion at the Tonghua coal mine associated with the Songzao Mining Bureau of Chongqing in Chongqing kills 30 and injures 59.
On November 21, 104 people were reported dead and 4 others trapped underground at the Xinxing mine in Heilongjiang province. China Central Television reported the news, and said that the cause was a gas explosion. The mine is run by one of China's top 520 state-owned enterprises, according to the Web site of its owner, the Hegang branch of the Heilongjiang Longmei Holding Mining Group. It says the Hegang branch has more than 88,000 employees. The mine is located near the border with Russia, about 250 miles (400 kilometers) northeast of the provincial capital, Harbin. The reported death toll climbed near 90 by the next day.

2010

In January, at least 25 people are killed and at least three others are trapped in a mine fire in Xiangtan County in Hunan.
On March 29, 153 people were trapped in a coal mine by a flood that occurred by breaking into a water-filled shaft in the Wangjialing coal mine in Shanxi.
On May 13, at least 21 people were killed and at least five were wounded when an explosion occurred at the privately run Yuanyang colliery in Puding County, Anshun, Guizhou.

2012

On August 29, 45 miners were killed in the Xiaojiawan coal mine explosion.
On the September 3, 14 miners were kill at Gaokeng Coal Mine in Jiangxi province.


Wkileaks

2005

Wikinews has related news: Chinese mine blast kills over 200
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2006

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2009

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Wikinews has related news: Explosion in Chinese mine kills 25

2010

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