Children among victims as toll from coal mine blast grows
Source: Xinhua/Shanghai Daily |
August 2, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE death toll from an explosion at a coal mine in Linfen City in north China's Shanxi Province early Saturday had risen to 17 after another two bodies were found, local authorities said yesterday.
The blast at the Liugou Coal Mine of Yicheng County also left 104 people injured, seven of them seriously, said Wang Jianshe, head of the county's People's Hospital, where the injured are being treated.
All of those hurt are in stable condition, Wang said.
Basic search and rescue work is over, said a senior official of Yangquan Coal Industry (Group) Co Ltd, which owns the mine.
The official said the blast took place in the dormitory area of the coal mine, where most of buildings were destroyed by the powerful explosion.
A miner surnamed Zhang said that families of many miners had come to live there because their children were currently on their summer vacation.
Officials have not disclosed how many children and women died during the incident.
Zhang said he saw the dead bodies of one couple after huge stones had fallen on them in a dormitory room.
Initial investigations show that the blast was caused by explosives hidden illegally in the area, and a suspect had been detained by the police, the mine official said.
Further investigation into the cause of the blast is under way.
Linfen City had nine major coal mine disasters, with more than 10 deaths in each incident, between 2003 and 2008.
On September 8, 2008, a massive landslide from an illegal mining operation submerged a village in Linfen and killed at least 277 people.
This year, coal mine disasters in China had killed 351 people up to July 18, according to the website of China's work safety administration.
The blast at the Liugou Coal Mine of Yicheng County also left 104 people injured, seven of them seriously, said Wang Jianshe, head of the county's People's Hospital, where the injured are being treated.
All of those hurt are in stable condition, Wang said.
Basic search and rescue work is over, said a senior official of Yangquan Coal Industry (Group) Co Ltd, which owns the mine.
The official said the blast took place in the dormitory area of the coal mine, where most of buildings were destroyed by the powerful explosion.
A miner surnamed Zhang said that families of many miners had come to live there because their children were currently on their summer vacation.
Officials have not disclosed how many children and women died during the incident.
Zhang said he saw the dead bodies of one couple after huge stones had fallen on them in a dormitory room.
Initial investigations show that the blast was caused by explosives hidden illegally in the area, and a suspect had been detained by the police, the mine official said.
Further investigation into the cause of the blast is under way.
Linfen City had nine major coal mine disasters, with more than 10 deaths in each incident, between 2003 and 2008.
On September 8, 2008, a massive landslide from an illegal mining operation submerged a village in Linfen and killed at least 277 people.
This year, coal mine disasters in China had killed 351 people up to July 18, according to the website of China's work safety administration.
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