Society
Groundwater problems at mine
By Yan Jie (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-03 07:35
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 A rescue worker instals water pumps at the entrance to the Luotuoshan Coal Mine in Wuhai, the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, after water flooded the pit and trapped 31 miners on Monday. [Ren Junchuan / Xinhua] |
BEIJING: A preliminary investigation has revealed problems with the detection and drainage of groundwater at the site of the country's latest mining tragedy in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, authorities said.
Luo Lin, director of the State Administration of Work Safety, said that while the official cause of the flooding is yet to be determined, there were problems with work safety practices at the mine.
Luo said there were problems with the management of groundwater but he stopped short of blaming any authority for the tragedy.
His comments on Tuesday came as seven survivors received treatment at a hospital not far from the Luotuoshan Coal Mine, located in Wuhai city. One worker was killed and 31 remain trapped after the incident on Monday morning.
"It was horrific," Yang Xuelin, one of seven workers who survived, told Xinhua from his hospital bed.
"A wave of water pounded us and eight people suddenly went missing."
Yang said he managed to survive by clinging to a piece of wood.
"We are very lucky to be alive," he said.
More than 1,000 rescuers are struggling to reach the 31 workers who are trapped deep in the mine. The rescuers are pumping out water, attempting to plug the water source and also drill passages to where the workers are believed to be located.
Shenhua Group Corp, China's biggest coal producer, owns the mine, which was being constructed by three contracted companies and was scheduled to begin production in May.
Rescuers estimated on Tuesday that about 100,000 cubic meters of groundwater flooded the mine, though the water level in the shaft has risen less rapidly in the past day, Xinhua reported
In January, 34 people died in a fire at a coal mine in Central China's Hunan province. A gas leak at a steel plant in North China's Hebei province killed 21 workers in the same month.
In late February, 19 workers died in a dust blast at a starch factory in Hebei province.
Two days later, 21 were killed in fireworks explosions in southern China's Guangdong province.
In the first two months of this year, 213 have been killed or are missing, down 16.1 percent on the previous year.
There were 115 accidents at coal mines in the same amount fo time, down 18.7 percent from the previous year, according to official data.
Luo's comments come as more than 10,000 small coal mines resume production after Chinese New Year.
Small coal mines are considered more vulnerable to accidents in China.
In 2009, small coal mines accounted for nearly 70 percent of all mine accident deaths.
A mine with an annual capacity of below 300,000 metric tons of coal is usually considered a small coal mine.
