Posted on 02/14/2005 6:08:58 PM PST by iso
SHANGHAI, China - A gas explosion in a coal mine in China's northeast killed at least 203 miners, the government said Tuesday, in the deadliest such disaster reported since communist rule began in 1949.
AFP/File Photo
The explosion Monday afternoon at the Sunjiawan mine in Liaoning province also injured 22 miners and trapped 13 underground, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
The cause of the blast, which occurred 794 feet underground, was under investigation, it said.
China has suffered a string of deadly mining disasters in recent months despite a nationwide safety crackdown.
A blast in northern China's Shaanxi province in November killed 166 miners. Another explosion in October killed 148. Before that, the deadliest recent reported mining accident was a fire in southern China that killed 162 miners in 2000.
The disaster in Liaoning was the deadliest disclosed by the Chinese government since the 1949 communist revolution. However, until the late 1990s, when the government began regularly announcing statistics on mining deaths, many industrial accidents were never reported.
In 1942, China's northeast was the scene of the world's deadliest coal mining disaster when an accident killed 1,549 miners in Japanese-occupied Manchuria during World War II.
The explosion at Sunjiawan happened about 10 minutes after an earthquake shook the mine, Xinhua said, citing Zhang Yunfu, vice general manager of the Fuxin mine group.
China's mines are by far the world's deadliest, with more than 6,000 deaths last year in floods, explosions and fires.
Mine owners and local officials are frequently blamed for putting profits ahead of safety, especially as the nation's soaring energy needs increase demand for coal.
The Sunjiawan mine in the Fuxin region has an annual production capacity of 1.5 million tons, Xinhua said.
Fuxin is one of China's oldest coal mining regions and many of its mines already have been depleted, according to state media reports. Miners in many such regions must tunnel far underground to reach coal seams and the risk of explosion due to methane gas is high.
One another incident. My Dad's friends in the mainland told us the PRC looks bright beautiful on the outside, but it is hollow inside.
Is the industrial incidents casualty figure going to rise above last year's 450,000?
That's the problem. The only thing the communist regime ever does is crack down. They don't fix anything, they just arrest a few people, execute them, and say "problem solved"
In the eyes of a central planner who's got one billion people to maneuver around the economy, 203 is barely a rounding error. My condolences to the families.
Hey, if you are being sarcastic, remember this is a tragedy. If you are not being sarcastic, my apologies in advance.
You got that 100% right. Last year officially 430,000 people died from various "industrial incidents" in China.
Oops, 450,000.
Amazing. Truly.
Perhaps I'm jaded, but I don't see the government caring that much.
As someone else said, my sorrow goes out to the families.
Nothing on my local news about this. Thank goodness for FR. Thank you Jim, and all Freepers out there.
I heard it on FOX --- and thought "another one? Don't they have ANY safety in their mines?"
That truly is sad to hear.
We have grown to know a time in which our safety standards keep such incidents to a minimum in the US.
But others are not as fortunate. There are many grieving families in China who have no way to hold people accountable for such actions, accidental or negligent in nature.
We need to remember the hurting in our prayers.
So true, and after visiting the mainland I have found that the people, (outside of government) are very friendly and have an impeccable work ethic.
Terrible news.
Prayers for the miners and their families.
Don't like this at all. There have been way too many disasters and accidents happening over the last six months.
I thinketh that the lord is upset.
Shades of Praxis (Warning!!: obscure star-trek reference)
I agree. The people were friendly and helpful, even when they knew I wasn't going to spend any cash at their particular business.
Quick story: I was stranded in a traffic jam in Beijing on a busy Friday night. Had a couple pijou's on the car ride from Tianjin, and the bladder was fixin' to blow. I jumped out of chartered limo and ran up to a policeman. I couldn't remember the word for "restroom", but he knew I was "hurting". He apologized for not speaking good English, and pointed me to a fairly upscale restaurant. I ran in, butted past several people saying "depushee (excuse me)" and the lady maitre'de practically escorted me to the john. Once outside I made my way back to the cop to offer "sheeshin". He had a huge smile on his face and was genuinely relieved for me (no pun intended). I walked the final 10 blocks to my hotel, the only gringo in sight in a city of 12 million.. greeted by an occasional smile and nod along the way.
So yeah, the people are very sweet. Anyone who posts otherwise about the common folk is a moron who's probably not been out of their home county. In my humble opinion, of course.
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