Mine blast in southwest kills 15; owner flees
By Guan Xiaofeng (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-08-27 07:08

The deaths of 15 workers in a coal mine in Southwest China's Guizhou Province may have been caused by poor safety measures against gas leaks and improper use of explosives, an anonymous provincial work safety official said on Friday.

The accident happened around 7:30 pm on Thursday when 21 workers were working underground at the Zhulinwan Coal Mine in Renhuai County in Guizhou Province, according to the director of the county's coal mine safety administration, surnamed He, who spoke from the scene by telephone.

Two workers came to the surface just before the leak, leaving 19 buried. Four workers who were close to the mine entrance were rescued.

The bodies of the dead were later carried out to the surface.

The owner of the coal mine, Li Zhengping, fled after the accident, Xinhua reported he is being hunted by police.

Li and his workers are all from Dengfeng, Central China's Henan Province.

According to He, production at the mine had not yet started as it had just obtained a licence from the provincial government and was still being dug.

The mine's designed production capacity is 60,000 tons per year.

The families of the dead workers are expected to receive compensation of 200,000 yuan (US$25,000) each, according to national guidelines.

Fires, floods and explosions are reported daily in China's mines where thousands of workers die each year despite repeated crackdowns on safety.

China relies on coal for more than two-thirds of its energy consumption and its mining industry is considered one of the world's biggest and most dangerous ones.

The government has launched campaigns to clear up the industry and pledged to spend more than 50 billion yuan (US$6 billion) to improve safety, but it has so far failed to stem mine deaths.

(China Daily 08/27/2005 page2)

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