Gas Explosion Kills 42 in N. China's Shanxi

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, March 24, 2003

Gas Explosion Kills 42 in N. China's Shanxi

The death toll from a gas explosion in a coal mine in north China's Shanxi Province had risen to 42 by Sunday evening, with 30 still missing.

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The death toll from a gas explosion in a coal mine in north China's Shanxi Province had risen to 42 by Sunday evening, with 30 still missing.

Sources with the provincial government said 87 miners were working underground in the Mengnanzhuang coal mine in Xiaoyi City early Saturday afternoon when the blast occurred.

Fifteen people so far have managed to survive the disaster, andseven teams of rescue workers have been sent to the site to searchfor more survivors. One miner was rescued on Sunday afternoon.

Ventilation has been restored in the mine but searching is still tough due to much of it having caved in, said a source from the rescue team.

Tian Chengping, secretary of the Shanxi Provincial Committee ofthe Communist Party of China, and Governor Liu Zhenhua rushed to the scene to direct the rescue work on Saturday evening.

Wang Xianzheng, director of the State Administration of Production Safety, Chen Changzhi, vice minister of Supervision, and Ji Mingbo, member of the Secretariat of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, arrived at the site Sunday afternoon to oversee the rescue and investigation work.

The Shanxi provincial government has ordered all coal mines to stop operation starting from Sunday, as this was the third gas explosion in this area with a death toll higher than 10 since February.

Rescue continues at mine explosion site in N. China

A force of 84 people and six ambulances are continuing rescue work in a coal mine in north China's Shanxi Province on Sunday evening after a gas explosion killed 42, sources with the local government said.

Both officials from Beijing and the local government have arrived at the site and urged the speeding up of all efforts to retrieve those still trapped underground.

By Sunday afternoon, one miner was rescued but 30 were still missing, said the sources.

Altogether 87 miners were working underground in the Mengnanzhuang coal mine in Xiaoyi City early Saturday afternoon when the blast occurred. Fifteen people so far have survived the disaster.

In addition, a team of more than 500 armed forces and local police have been deployed to ensure the security of the site.

Among the 72 dead and missing miners, 34 are locals. Local officials have visited their families to offer comfort.

The remaining 38 are mainly from the northwestern province of Shaanxi, and their families will be notified soon, said the sources.

The Shanxi provincial government has ordered all coal mines to stop operation starting from Sunday, as this was the third gas explosion in this area with a death toll higher than 10 since February.

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