China mine disaster claims 81
2005-07-13 08:07
Beijing - The death toll in an explosion at a coal mine in China's far west rose to 81, and rescuers were searching for two others, state media reported on Wednesday.
The blast tore through the Shenlong Coal Mine in the Xinjiang region early on Monday, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Only four miners survived, the agency reported.
China's work safety watchdog has blamed the blast on a number of safety oversights, including overproduction, the absence of a work safety licence, and bad management.
The watchdog criticised the mine's managers for sending an exceedingly large number of miners underground in order to increase production, and for failing to evacuate miners after a high level of gas was registered inside the mine.
China's coal mines are the world's deadliest, with explosions, floods and fires killing thousands of workers each year. Accidents often are blamed on lack of safety equipment and lax safety rules.
- AP