Mine explosion kills 21
2005-05-17 12:18
Shanghai - Twenty-one miners died in a coal mine explosion in south-western China, the government said on Tuesday.
Initial reports said only one miner had died and 15 were missing from the blast on Thursday at a small mine in Panzhihua, an iron and steel industrial base in Sichuan province.
However, rescuers found another 20 bodies, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Ten miners who survived the explosion were hospitalised, the report said.
It said a preliminary investigation found the blast was caused by "violation of production procedures and poor management."
No other details were given.
China's mines, especially collieries, are notoriously hazardous. Panzhihua also reported fatal coal mine explosions in 2002 and 2003.
Despite repeated pledges by the government to improve safety, the number of deaths in China's coal mines surged by nearly 21% to 1 113 in the first three months of this year. Accidents kill an average of 16 miners a day.
Officials acknowledge investment in mine safety and training is insufficient and management is lax. They say efforts to shut down dangerous mines have been complicated by the country's soaring demands for power to drive its booming economy.
- AP