19 dead in China coal mine accident

Beijing, Nov 25 (IANS) Nineteen miners were killed and four remained trapped after a gas outburst hit a coal mine in southwest China, rescuers said Sunday.

A total of 28 miners were working underground when the accident occurred Saturday at the mine in coal−rich Liupanshui city in southwest Guizhou province, Xinhua quoted provincial authorities as saying.

Rescuers were still searching Sunday, and the gas density in the pit has declined, an official said.

The coal mine went into operation in 2006 with a designed annual output of four million tonnes. The mine sits on a coal deposit of 1.3 billion tonnes.

Coal produced by it feeds the Pannan power station in the region, considered a key part of the government’s strategy to send electricity from its resource−rich western region to the power−hungry industry belts in the east.

A total of 1,146 people have died in 650 mining accidents this year, according to government figures released in October.

IANS 2012-11-25 12:40:20