Sixteen workers were killed and 42 others remained trapped in two separate coal mine accidents in China, state media reported on Saturday, as the toll from a massive mine blast in the northeast rose to 169.
The accidents were the latest disasters to strike China’s mines, which are considered the most dangerous in the world, especially in recent years as demand for raw materials has escalated to help fuel rapid economic growth.
Rescuers on Saturday were trying to reach the 42 workers trapped in a flooded mine in central Henan province, said reports from the national work safety agency and state media.
A total of 76 miners were working underground when the Sigou coal mine in Shisi township, Xin’an county, flooded at 11:40 pm (1540 GMT) Friday, the State Administration of Work Safety said on its website.
Thirty-four workers escaped, it said, revising a previous report by the Xinhua state news agency that said 48 workers had been underground and just six managed to flee.
Meanwhile, 16 people were killed in a gas explosion early on Friday at the Zhonghe mine in Liupanshui city in the southwestern province of Guizhou, the China News Service website reported on Saturday.
Only last month, another 16 miners were killed in a gas explosion at the Shagou colliery, also in Liupanshui city.
The news of the two fresh accidents came as the death toll from last Sunday’s explosion at the state-run Dongfeng coal mine near Qitaihe city in the northeastern Heilongjiang province rose to 169.
Two senior mine officials at the Dongfeng mine were detained this week after the national work safety watchdog angrily rebuked mine management for ignoring vital danger signs in the week leading up to the deadly blast.
Relatives of mine tragedy victims often accuse management and even government officials of having little regard for safety standards and of systematically exploiting their workers to turn a quick profit.
Many of China’s mines are illegal.
More than 6 000 miners died in accidents in China last year, according to previously released government figures. Independent estimates say the real figure could be as high as 20 000.
Experts warn that safety standards are not keeping up with the breakneck pace of China’s industrial production, with this week’s coal mine disasters highlighting the disastrous consequences.
China relies on coal for two-thirds of its energy needs and is planning to increase its annual output of the fossil fuel from 2,1-billion tonnes to 2,4-billion tonnes over the next five years. – AFP