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[Time To Roll]

China mine explosions kill 53 miners
[ 26 Nov, 2006 ]

BEIJING: Gas explosions killed at least 53 people in two Chinese coalmines, the government said on Sunday, as poor safety and illegal mining continue to plague the country's coal industry.

Thirty-two miners died and 28 were injured after an explosion on Saturday afternoon at the privately run Changyuan coalmine in Fuyuan county in the Yunnan province, the State Administration of Work Safety said on its website.

About 60 miners were trapped by the blast, and rescue workers continued to search for missing miners on Sunday, the report said.

The administration said it had ordered the closure of the Changyuan coalmine in January but the local government in Qujng, Fuyuan county, re-designated the mine as a "protected" one and allowed it to continue operation.

At least 21 more miners died and six were missing after another gas explosion on Saturday afternoon in Jixi city of Heilongjiang province.

Four other miners were rescued after the explosion at the Yuanhua coalmine, the agency said.

About 6,000 coal miners were killed in accidents in China last year, according to official figures.

Out-of-date equipment, illegal mining as well as poor safety systems and supervision are behind many accidents.

From January to October this year, 3,726 miners died in 2,340 accidents in the coal industry, 22 per cent down from the same period in 2005.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/World/Rest_of_World/China_mine_explosions_kill_53_miners/art...