Government Vows to Punish Officials Responsible for Coal Mine Explosions

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, November 22, 2001

Government Vows to Punish Officials Responsible for Coal Mine Explosions

The State Administration for Safe Production Supervision (SASPS) has said those officials responsible for last week's series coal mine explosions in Shanxi Province will be punished.

Officials Responsible for Coal Mine Explosions Investigated

The State Administration for Safe Production Supervision (SASPS) has said those officials responsible for last week's series coal mine explosions in Shanxi Province will be punished.

SASPS spokesman Huang Yi said Tuesday that investigation is being carry out into the gas explosions that killed 58 persons, with 14 others still missing.

To date, four people held directly liable for one of the explosions have been arrested.

Meanwhile, all small coal mines in Shanxi, a major coal production base in north China, have been ordered to stop production to undergo safety checks.

Officials Responsible for Coal Mine Explosions Investigated

A circular issued by SASPS called on coal mines across the country to draw a lesson from the accidents in Shanxi and observe safety regulations strictly. A work team has been sent to Shanxi Province to see if local governments have effectively implemented the central government's policy of closing small mines.

Official statistics show that 11,882 such mines were closed down in the first 10 months of this year. The State Economic and Trade Commission has planned projects involving 540 million yuan (65 million U.S. dollars) to improve safety in more than 80 key coal mines nationwide.

4,547 Killed in Ten Months

Last January to October found 2,378 mine accidents deprive 4,547 persons of their lives with the death toll down by 355 capita, being 7 percent lower as against the same period last year, said Huang Yi, spokesman for China National Coal Mine Safety Supervision Bureau at Tuesday's news briefing.

China's strengthening on coal-mine security has witnessed successive achievements in various aspects, according to Huang.

By the end of October this year, 905 small coalmines of the 1,284 state-owned coalmines have been shut down. All the small coalmines have been closed with the exception of some in Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang and Liaoning Provinces. Among the 33,977 township coalmines, 10,977 have been closed down. Except for the 2,940 small coalmines that had passed check for acceptance, all the others are still under lockout.

After years of efforts, the number of small coalmines in China decreased from 82,000 at the end of 1997 to the current 23,000, with the output down from 620 million tons in 1997 to 200 million tons or so.

Situation Still Severe

However, accidents took place repeatedly in some small coalmines in Guizhou, Hunan, Shandong and Shanxi Provinces recently. Especially in Shanxi, the province seeing the largest coal output in China, four serious or even exceptionally serious accidents erupted in succession in a short span of five days from November 14 to 18. Fifty-eight persons died with another 12 got injured. The most serious accident is the gas explosion happened in the Podi Coalmine in Tianningzhen of Jiaocheng County, Shanxi Province on November 15. So far, 33 persons have been reported dead and 12 injured.

Measures to close down unqualified small mines for rectification were not implemented resolutely in all regions. Driven by local protectionism, some local governments failed to adopt an active attitude to fulfilling the measures to strictly close down small coalmines. Especially when the situation takes a turn for the better at the coal market, certain regions are in short of coal supply and the price of coal rises, some small coalmines, instigated by profits, furtively restore production without authorization, Huang said.

Huang emphasized that China set in motion the nationwide overhaul on coal mining safety in November and efforts are being made to bring it assuredly to finish by the yearend. Small coalmines that fail to reach the standard of acceptable reliability will be closed down without exception.

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Small Coal Mines in Shanxi Ordered to Stop Production for Safety Checks