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16 trapped in flooded mine
20/08/2005 13:14 - (SA)
Beijing - Rescue workers were racing on Saturday to extricate 16 miners trapped in a flooded coal mine in northeastern China, a work safety official said.
The Fengguang Coal Mine near Shulan city in Jilin province flooded on Friday, the Jilin work safety administration official said.
"There were over 100 miners in the shaft when the flooding happened, but most of them managed to escape," said the official, surnamed Li.
"But there are still 16 trapped and right now we're trying to locate them," she said.
Investigators were trying to find out why the state-run coal mine had flooded, Xinhua news agency reported.
China's mines are considered the most deadly in the world with safety often sacrificed to supply the fuel that is driving the country's rapid industrialization and economic growth.
China recorded about 2 700 mining fatalities in the first half of the year from explosions, shaft collapses, fires and other accidents.
Independent estimates say the real figure could be far higher as mines often falsify death counts to escape closures and fines.
- AFP
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