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Nine trapped in flooded China coal mine: state media Beijing (AFP) July 1, 2010 Nine miners were trapped after a flood in China's coal-producing heartland, state media reported Thursday. Safety officials had made contact with eight of the group at the mine in Shanxi province, the official Xinhua news agency said, adding that they would be rescued "soon". Twenty-three miners were around 1,400 metres (nearly a mile) underground at the time of the flood on Wednesday afternoon and 14 of them escaped to safety. China's vast coal mining industry is notoriously accident-prone due to lax regulation, corruption and inefficiency as mines rush to meet soaring demand. China relies on coal-generated power for about 70 percent of its electricity needs. In March, a flood at the huge, unfinished Wangjialing mine in the industry's northern heartland of Shanxi left 153 workers trapped underground. A total of 115 were recovered alive, in what was seen as a rare successful rescue. Yet despite numerous pledges after that accident and other big mining disasters, there is virtually no let-up in the regular reports of deadly mishaps.
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China coal mine explosion kills 47 Beijing (AFP) June 21, 2010 An explosion at a central Chinese colliery on Monday killed 47 coal miners, state media reported, the latest deadly accident to strike the country's notoriously dangerous mining sector. The blast happened near Pingdingshan city in the central province of Henan when a store of gunpowder kept underground detonated, according to reports citing the State Administration of Work Safety. The ac ... read more |
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