Chinese Miners Trapped; Rescuers Rush To Scene

BEIJING — A buildup of volatile gas hampered rescue efforts in one Chinese coal mine and high levels of water slowed them in another as emergency crews raced to reach 40 miners trapped Sunday for a second day, officials and state media reports said.

The accidents – a cave-in at one mine and a flood at the other – occurred Saturday in two southern provinces after days of heavy rains.

At the Heshan mine in Guangxi, rescuers vented explosive gas released from coal seams and pumped out silt-filled water as they tried to reach 19 miners believed to be 1,200 feet (390 meters) underground, the state media reports said. China Central Television interviewed a miner who said he heard a loud explosion before the cave-in, which killed at least three miners.

Waters continued to flood into the Niupeng mine in Guizhou, where 21 miners are trapped. Industrial pumps were brought into action but the waters remained high, CCTV said.

Heavy demand for coal to fuel China's economy has turned Chinese mines into the world's deadliest, despite constant safety campaigns that have managed to reduce fatal accidents. On Saturday, the State Administration of Work Safety released its latest order for vigilance after accidents at four other mines, a construction site and a port left 26 people dead in the past two weeks.

Comments

[roydoe]

09:17 PM on 07/03/2011

They must die for the good of the many.

[trumphent]

06:30 PM on 07/03/2011

What a travesty. Coal is still being mined deep underground, in this century. This isn't even high grade anthracite in these two mines. On a brighter note, China is attempting to replace coal as rapidly as it can with natural gas.

[LiberalLee]

03:50 PM on 07/03/2011

My heart goes out to them and their families.
Does China have its own Massey Mine operators or was this just a rotten unexpected happening?

[Amalek]

11:38 AM on 07/03/2011

There is a story circulating in Beijing that notes were found with Osama indicating that Al Qaeda should attempt no terrorist plots in China.   They had tried three times and failed.

The first time the set out to blow up a bridge in Beijing.  There were so many construction detours they were unable to get to the bridge.

They then set out to blow up a high speed train in Shenzhen, but someone stole the backpack with the explosives before they could be used.

Finally, the decided to blow up a coal mine.  They succeeded, but the Chinese government covered it up and no one knew about it.

[Jeff Forsythe]

10:57 AM on 07/03/2011

Just another example of how much the brutal Chinese Communist Party cares for its people. It cares about one thing, its own survival.
Because it misjudged the innocent practice of Falun Gong and looked upon it as a threat, since 1999 it has been torturing and murdering and attempting a genocide of Falun Gong's tens of millions adherents.

[Amalek]

11:35 AM on 07/03/2011

Where were you when the brutal Bush administration called off the mine safety inspectors and killed dozens of Americans?

[LiberalLee]

04:24 PM on 07/03/2011

Probably trying to figure out how to get free health care from the govamint..

[Josiah Darby]

08:20 PM on 07/03/2011

Tell us about it, please.

[smittlib77]

02:54 AM on 07/04/2011

what does a group of thrown-together new age religious cultists have to do with a mine explosion?

[knightoftheroundtable]

10:56 AM on 07/03/2011

Mining is dangerous all over the world. Cost to retrieve coal and cost for protecting workers are in opposite poles. Ideally worker protection should be first and foremost but it places second in almost all societies, including America. Lets us hope that all trapped miners will be rescued in every case.

[Lisbeth35]

11:26 AM on 07/03/2011

agreed. Regulation is not a bad thing and can help save lives. Sadly, Profits before People has been the rallying cry of many politicians and businesses and is commonplace in today's societies across the planet.

[moonlightesq]

10:46 AM on 07/03/2011

Another mining accident in China, although totally expected, yet can be avoided. My heart goes out to the miners and their families.

[Carl Caroli]

09:54 AM on 07/03/2011

Coal kills from start to finish.

[Bdgold]

09:54 AM on 07/03/2011

This is what happens when you have no oversight over business. I never thought I would see neo-cons wanting to be so communist.

[Amalek]

11:39 AM on 07/03/2011

There is very little daylight between the communist and republican parties.

[frank day]

09:26 AM on 07/03/2011

Hoping they will be rescued safe and sound.

My heart goes out to them and their families.

[heckmepitus]

09:18 AM on 07/03/2011

China has about 80% of the world’s mining deaths, although it produces only 38% of the world’s coal. As many as 20,000 miners die in accidents each year. Just another example that socialism doesn't work.

[Lisbeth35]

11:29 AM on 07/03/2011

or lack of regulation in the economy doesn't work.

[blackwind]

04:21 PM on 07/03/2011

Until America went "socialist" and instituted MSHA, we were killing miners as bad, or nearly as bad, as the Chinese. As the evil MSHA tightened it's grip, mining deaths plummeted to the far lower levels seen today. Proof that "socialism" works.

[Bonez1]

08:54 AM on 07/03/2011

with our daily demands for these resources completely forgotten, it is a sad situation whenever these workers who make those resources possible for us are trapped in these situations.

i cannot imagine being in a small space thousands of feet below ground...

i certainly hope these men are rescued and they return safely to their families!

[Roadrun]

08:25 AM on 07/03/2011

So today there are stories about nuclear power and coal power accidents. Not long from now we will be reading stories about a wind farm accident or a massive photon leak at a solar power plant

[Bdgold]

09:55 AM on 07/03/2011

The connecting thread is poor oversight of potentially dangerous environments. Both the Japanese nuclear industry and the Chinese coal mining industry are legendary for not caring.

[OliverTwist]

08:21 AM on 07/03/2011

Wishing them success in their rescues.

[THE GREAT PURIFIER]

01:40 AM on 07/03/2011

My thoughts and prayers with the miners and their families.