China mine blast death toll rises

2012-08-31 10:35

Rescuers work at Xiaojiawan Coal Mine in Panzhihua City, after a gas explosion killed dozens. (Zhang Zhong, Xinhua, AP)

Beijing - The death toll from a gas explosion at a coal mine in China has risen to 37, with another 10 people trapped, authorities said on Friday, after one of the country's worst mining accidents of the last year.

There were 154 workers underground when the blast hit the Xiaojiawan mine in southwest China's Sichuan province on Wednesday morning - the latest in a string of fatal incidents for an industry known for poor safety standards.

Rescue workers have struggled to gain access to the area where the miners are trapped, hampered by temperatures as high as 90 degrees Celsius and high levels of poisonous carbon monoxide gas.

Injured

Emergency crews have pulled 34 bodies from the mine, while another three workers were rescued but later died of their injuries, the official Xinhua news agency said. Another 17 are being treated for serious injuries.

It is believed to be the worst coal mining accident to hit China since an explosion last November in a mine in southwestern Yunnan province killed 43 people.

It is not clear whether the 10 remaining trapped miners are still alive, but state media reports said 145 more rescuers had been dispatched to the site of the disaster on Thursday.

Authorities have detained three mine owners and frozen the mine's accounts while they investigate the incident and have begun discussing compensation with the victims' families, the China Daily said.

China's mines are among the world's deadliest due to lax regulation, corruption and inefficiency. Accidents are common because safety is often neglected by bosses seeking quick profits.

The latest official figures show 1 973 people died in coal mining accidents in China in 2011, a 19% fall on the previous year.

- AFP