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China pronounces 172 miners dead in mining disaster
Beijing (AFP) Sept 6, 2007 The 172 miners trapped in a flooded mine in eastern China nearly three weeks ago were pronounced dead Thursday as officials cited bad management as a main cause of the tragedy, state press said. The miners "will not return alive," Xinhua news agency quoted a statement from the Shandong provincial government as saying. Heavy rains caused a nearby river to burst its banks on August 18, flooding the Zhangzhuang coal mine near the city of Xintai. An extensive rescue operation has focused on pumping the water from the pit, but none of the missing have been found. There was no news about the fate of nine other workers trapped the same day in a flood at the nearby Minggong coal mine, Xinhua reported. Although officials had previously insisted the tragedy was simply a natural disaster, State Administration of Work Safety chief Li Yizhong said this week that poor planning and inadequate safety procedures were also to blame. "The root (problem) is some local authorities and companies have failed to take sufficient action to tackle safety loopholes and build a sound early-warning mechanism," Li said in comments carried by the China Daily. "Although extreme weather and natural disasters were factors in the recent accident, it also reflects deep problems in safety systems." Relatives of those lost in the mine have always said bad management was to blame and were furious when senior officials, including Civil Affairs Minister Li Xueju, earlier claimed it was purely a natural disaster. The families insisted that the accident at the Zhangzhuang mine highlighted the abysmal workplace safety practices in China's coal mine industry, which is the most dangerous in the world. Workers at the mine had reported that it had flooded repeatedly since it opened in 1957 but deaths had been routinely covered up. More than 4,700 coal miners died in China last year, according to official figures, but independent labour groups put the real toll at closer to 20,000 annually. They say many accidents never come to light. Related Links Surviving the Pits
Chinese workers rescued after eight days in collapsed tunnel
Beijing (AFP) Aug 28, 2007Four construction workers who were trapped for eight days in a tunnel following an accident at a hydropower project in southwestern China were pulled out alive on Tuesday, state media reported. |
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