Miners' safety

Thirty-one coal miners were killed and the fate of six others still remains unknown following a coalmine gas leak in Central China's Henan province on Saturday. Everybody is wishing for a "miracle" like the one in Chile last week when 33 miners were safely pulled out of a mine 69 days after a shaft caved in.

Life will be much harder for the six Chinese miners if they are still alive. They don't have a lifesaving haven, such as the one that made it possible for their Chilean counterparts to survive for 69 days before being pulled to safety.

While the rescue operation is going on to save the miners, the good news is that five large coalmines in North China's Shanxi province, one of the major coal producing regions in the country, have started to install lifesaving cabins in their pits. Such cabins can keep 10 to 12 miners alive for 96 hours after a gas leak or explosion occurs.