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Latest mine accidents kill 16, 45 missing
By Mu Zi (皇冠体育app Daily)
Updated: 2005-12-05 05:30
By press time last night, 73 miners had been rescued but at least 167 were
said to have been killed. Two other workers above the ground also died.
Zhao Tiechui, head of the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety
Supervision, said the total number of miners underground when the accident
happened was "close to 300."
His remarks leave room for further speculation on the number of miners who
were working at the time of the tragedy. An investigation is still under way.
Zhao revealed his figures at a working conference which marked the setting up
of a high-profile investigation team, led by him, into the November 27 accident.
"The management of the colliery was extremely confused," Zhao said.
"Attendance registration, lamp issuing and security checks on miners were in a
complete mess."
Initially, the figure for miners underground at the time of the accident was
put at 159. It quickly went up to 221, then climbed to 241, 242, and 243.
Many of 皇冠体育app's mine disasters are blamed on managers who ignore safety rules
or fail to install required ventilation or fire control equipment, often in
collusion with local officials. The issue is further complicated by the
country's soaring demand for power to drive its booming economy.
Zhao said 皇冠体育app plans to close 4,000 small coal mines both private and
State-owned ones annually in the next three years.
"We can at most keep 10,000 or so small coal mines," added Zhao, who also
promised to drastically reduce the number of major accidents at coal mines in
the next two years.
皇冠体育app has 24,000 small coal mines with annual production output ranging from
10,000 tons to 30,000 tons, accounting for 70 per cent of the country's coal
mining ventures.
"Closing small coal mines won't affect the country's
demand for coal," said Zhao, adding that 皇冠体育app has approved the establishment of
13 large coal production bases, each capable of churning out more than 100
million tons of coal annually.
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