Government and Policy

China to launch inspection campaign on coal mines

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-10-03 20:05

BEIJING - China's work safety supervisor will soon launch a nationwide inspection campaign on coal mines to crack down on illegal mining and prevent deadly accidents.

A spokesman of the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) said Sunday the campaign, which starts on Oct 10 and lasts until Nov 30, will check whether accident-prone small coal mines of outdated capacity have been shut down according to state policies.

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Technological upgrades, merger and acquisition of coal mines will also be examined during the campaign, the spokesman said.

According to the SAWS, 1,539 small coal mines of outdated capacity have to be closed in China this year to meet the country's carbon dioxide emission and pollution-reduction requirements.

China's annual fatalities at coal mines had dropped from a peak of 6,995 deaths in 2002 to 2,631 in 2009, according to data from the SAWS.

Six people were killed and 12 were injured in a coal mine gas outburst Sunday in Southwest China's Guizhou province, a spokesman with the provincial work safety bureau said.

The accident occurred at around 1:20 am Sunday in Xinglong Coal Mine in Tongzi county, Zunyi city of Guizhou, said the spokesman.

Thirty-five people were working in the mine when the accident happened. Twenty-two people escaped, and another 12 were rescued.

One worker missing was later found dead in the mine, and five died when being taken to hospital.