Rescuers race to save 50 trapped in coal mine
By Staff Reporter |
November 5, 2011, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
RESCUERS were racing against the clock to try to reach 50 miners trapped in a colliery in central China where a cave-in authorities blamed on a small earthquake has claimed four lives.
Seven miners were pulled out alive from the mine yesterday afternoon in Sanmenxia, Henan Province. China Central Television showed rescuers with helmets and oxygen tanks carrying the seven from a mine elevator as waiting officials applauded and medical staff rushed to attend to them.
The rescued miners lay on stretchers, wrapped with blankets with their eyes covered by towels to prevent damage from sudden exposure to light after hours of being trapped.
Six had minor injuries but one was seriously hurt, according to Xinhua news agency.
The "rock burst" - a sudden rupture of the rock face common in the mining industry - hit the Qianqiu Coal Mine about 7:45pm on Thursday while 75 miners were working underground, though 14 managed to escape soon after.
The mine belongs to Yima Coal Group, a large state-owned coal company, the State Administration of Work Safety said on its website.
At least 200 workers were digging a rescue tunnel about 500 meters deep to try to reach the trapped miners.
There have been no reports of communication with the trapped miners.
However, rescuers said they are very likely to survive if they were not seriously during the rock burst because the shaft has been well ventilated.
Survival depends on the intensity of the rock explosion and if ventilation can be provided, a local official told The Associated Press earlier.
"If it was not very strong, it might have caused the tunnel to get narrower, but we might still be able to send some air in there to ensure ventilation," said Yima city's publicity department chief, surnamed Tian.
Workers were digging a small tunnel about 760 meters long when the accident occurred, according to reports by Xinhua. After the rock burst, the tunnel appeared to have "basically folded" a little more than halfway down the passage. It was unclear what the condition of the tunnel was beyond that point, Xinhua said.
The rock burst occurs when settling earth bears down on mine walls and causes a sudden release of stored energy. The exploding chunks of coal and rock, or the shock waves alone, can be lethal.
Luo Lin, head of the administration, said a magnitude-2.9 earthquake occurred near the mine shortly before a rock burst was reported.
One of the 14 who escaped on Thursday night, Li Zhen, said he heard a huge bang before the shaft cave-in. "Then all the lights in the shaft went out ... I was pushed away several meters by coal pieces," Li told Xinhua at a hospital. He was working about 450 meters into the shaft at the time.
Li said he only wanted to run toward the ground but as the shaft was filled with coal he had to scramble out, along with two co-workers. Li suffered slight injures to his arms.
Zhang Xiaotao, who was working 380 meters into the shaft, said the impact knocked him out instantly. He was rescued by a co-worker.
China's coal mines are the deadliest in the world, although the industry's safety record has improved in recent years as smaller, illegal mines have been closed.
Annual fatalities are now about one-third of the high of nearly 7,000 in 2002.
Seven miners were pulled out alive from the mine yesterday afternoon in Sanmenxia, Henan Province. China Central Television showed rescuers with helmets and oxygen tanks carrying the seven from a mine elevator as waiting officials applauded and medical staff rushed to attend to them.
The rescued miners lay on stretchers, wrapped with blankets with their eyes covered by towels to prevent damage from sudden exposure to light after hours of being trapped.
Six had minor injuries but one was seriously hurt, according to Xinhua news agency.
The "rock burst" - a sudden rupture of the rock face common in the mining industry - hit the Qianqiu Coal Mine about 7:45pm on Thursday while 75 miners were working underground, though 14 managed to escape soon after.
The mine belongs to Yima Coal Group, a large state-owned coal company, the State Administration of Work Safety said on its website.
At least 200 workers were digging a rescue tunnel about 500 meters deep to try to reach the trapped miners.
There have been no reports of communication with the trapped miners.
However, rescuers said they are very likely to survive if they were not seriously during the rock burst because the shaft has been well ventilated.
Survival depends on the intensity of the rock explosion and if ventilation can be provided, a local official told The Associated Press earlier.
"If it was not very strong, it might have caused the tunnel to get narrower, but we might still be able to send some air in there to ensure ventilation," said Yima city's publicity department chief, surnamed Tian.
Workers were digging a small tunnel about 760 meters long when the accident occurred, according to reports by Xinhua. After the rock burst, the tunnel appeared to have "basically folded" a little more than halfway down the passage. It was unclear what the condition of the tunnel was beyond that point, Xinhua said.
The rock burst occurs when settling earth bears down on mine walls and causes a sudden release of stored energy. The exploding chunks of coal and rock, or the shock waves alone, can be lethal.
Luo Lin, head of the administration, said a magnitude-2.9 earthquake occurred near the mine shortly before a rock burst was reported.
One of the 14 who escaped on Thursday night, Li Zhen, said he heard a huge bang before the shaft cave-in. "Then all the lights in the shaft went out ... I was pushed away several meters by coal pieces," Li told Xinhua at a hospital. He was working about 450 meters into the shaft at the time.
Li said he only wanted to run toward the ground but as the shaft was filled with coal he had to scramble out, along with two co-workers. Li suffered slight injures to his arms.
Zhang Xiaotao, who was working 380 meters into the shaft, said the impact knocked him out instantly. He was rescued by a co-worker.
China's coal mines are the deadliest in the world, although the industry's safety record has improved in recent years as smaller, illegal mines have been closed.
Annual fatalities are now about one-third of the high of nearly 7,000 in 2002.
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