REGIONAL> Society
73 dead in north China coal mine accident
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-02-22 11:48

TAIYUAN -- A gas explosion ripped through a coal mine in north China's Shanxi on Sunday, killing at least 73 miners and trapping dozens, according to rescuers.

The accident occurred while 436 miners were working underground at 2:17 am at the Tunlan Coal Mine of Shanxi Coking Coal Group in Gujiao City, about 50 km away from Taiyuan, the provincial capital.

A total of 371 miners have either escaped or have been pulled out by rescuers, according to the rescue headquarters.

Rescuers said 113 miners were still hospitalized, including 21 in critical condition.

Rescuers prepare to enter a coal mine shaft, which was hit by a blast in the city of Gujiao, in North China's Shanxi province, February 22, 2009. [Xinhua]

So far more than 80 rescuers are searching underground, and more have been summoned and are on the way, the rescue headquarters said.

A man in his early 20s who declined to be named is sitting beside the exit of the shaft, gazing at the busy rescuers.

"I should have been among them, had I not changed my shift with another miner," he murmured. "He is still underground. I hope he is alive."

In his team, nine miners were among the trapped, three of whom were later pulled out and rushed to hospital.

A rescuer told Xinhua that some relatives of the trapped miners said they have got cell phone calls from their dear ones under the mine, which means they are alive.

Hospital sources said they have received 153 miners at 11:15 am, but the number kept changing. Most of the miners suffered carbon monoxide poisoning, said doctors in the Xishan Hospital of Coal and Electricity in Gujiao, one of the nearest hospitals to the mine.

Zhang Baoshun, the provincial Communist Party committee chief, who is leading the rescue work at the accident site, urged to use scientific methods in rescue to prevent secondary disasters.

So far, 57 rescuers from seven professional rescue teams have arrived at the mine to search for the trapped workers.

More than 40 ambulances have been called to the accident site.

All of the 68 hyperbaric oxygenc chambers in hospitals in Taiyuan are open for admitting the injured miners.

The Shanxi Coking Coal Group is one of China's largest coking coal producers. The Tunlan Coal Mine has an annual production capacity of 5 million tonnes.

The mine enjoyed a reputation for safe operation, as no accident occurred there in the past decade.