At least eight miners were confirmed dead and rescue teams were battling to reach a further 78 workers trapped underground after a fire at five iron-ore mines in northern China, officials and media said on Sunday.
By early Sunday, 20 miners had been rescued from the blaze at the mines in Baita township in Hebei province, the state administration of work safety supervision said on its website.
”Everybody has gone to the scene of the accident,” an official at the township said by telephone.
The fire was initially reported at 10.30am local time on Saturday in a privately run mine in the township, and it rapidly spread to four nearby iron ore mines, while 106 miners were working underground, the state administration said.
Preliminary investigations suggested the fire broke out after cables self-ignited in one of the mines, Xinhua news agency reported.
Police have detained the people in charge of the mines and frozen their bank accounts, according to Xinhua.
A total of 175 rescuers, organised into 15 teams, were dispatched in hopes of finding survivors.
China’s coal mines are the deadliest in the world, with more than 7 000 workers killed each year, according to official figures.
Hong Kong-based human rights group China Labour Bulletin puts the annual number of deaths in the industry at about 20 000. — Sapa-AFP