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Coal mine accidents claim 18 lives
Rescue workers are racing against time to rescue three miners that remain trapped in the tunnels of a coal mine in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, as the death toll climbed to 12 by press time yesterday. "The fire has already been extinguished and we are taking measures, such as changing the ventilation direction in the mine tunnels with the hope of protecting the trapped miners from the harmful gas," said a spokesman for the Shuangyashan city government. He said the search could last for some time, however, due to the intricate tunnel structure. Around 10 am on Sunday morning, a fire broke out in Jinyuan coal mine of Shuangyashan, one of the four major coal-producing bases of Heilongjiang Province. Preliminary investigation pins the blame on the sudden spark of the electric cable lines underground, according to the Heilongjiang Provincial Coal Mine Safety Administration. The spark then set ablaze a wooden shed that supported the tunnel, trapping an estimated 31 miners. Rescue teams rushed to the site, and 16 miners have been rescued so far. After discovering the body of a miner on Sunday, the rescuers uncovered 11 consecutive bodies yesterday. The Jinyuan Coal Mine in Baoshan District of the city is a small-sized mine with an annual production capacity of 60,000 tons. The mine has all the necessary licences, including the security licence, according to the administration. In another development, three of the 13 miners trapped in a flooded coal mine in Southwest China's Guizhou Province two days ago were rescued yesterday morning, local government sources said. The three miners were clearheaded and were rushed to hospital. Rescuers also recovered the bodies of six miners. They are searching for the four others who remained missing, said sources with the Guizhou Provincial Administration of Workplace Safety Supervision. The accident occurred in the Dahao Coal Mine in Fengcheng Township of Tianzhu County at about 1:40 pm on Saturday when 39 miners were working underground. Twenty-six miners managed to escape but 13 were trapped.
(China Daily 09/13/2005 page3)
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