Coal mine blast kills 104

• Source: Global Times
• [02:23 November 23 2009]
• Comments

By Song Shengxia

Rescuers get ready to descend the mineshaft Sunday to search for survivors at the site of the accident at the Xinxing Coal Mine in Hegang city, in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. A total of 103 bodies of miners had been found as of last night, and another four were still trapped in the shaft, local authorities said. Photo: Xinhua

At least 104 were killed and another four were still trapped last night after a gas explosion ripped through a coal mine early Saturday morning in Hegang, Heilongjiang Province in northeast China.

The explosion occurred at around 2:30 am at Xinxing Coal Mine, property of the State-owned Heilongjiang Longmei Mining Holding Group's subsidiary in Hegang, the Xinhua News Agency reported Sunday.

Of the 528 miners who were working in the pit when the blast occurred, 420 managed to escape.

Rescuers were still trying to reach the trapped miners, Liu Fukun, an official with the Heilongjiang Work Safety Bureau, told the Global Times late Sunday.

The manager of the mine and two other executives have been removed from their posts.

Concerned by the accident, President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao sent Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang to the scene at 3 pm Saturday to oversee the rescue efforts, according to a CCTV report.

Li Zhanshu, governor of Heilongjiang, said at a televised meeting Sunday that he is responsible for this tragedy as the provincial leader.

Six severely injured miners, among 63 who suffered injuries, had been declared out of danger by last night.

The blast was so violent that it rocked the surrounding area, with buildings close to the mine reported to have partially collapsed, with some survivors knocked unconscious temporarily.

"My acquaintances and I are unwilling to work for coal mines because the work conditions are dangerous," a businessman surnamed Wang, who has been in Hegang for over five years, told the Global Times after the blast.

Wang said he was concerned for the trapped workers, and the accident itself shook him a lot.

"I was told the mine is a State-owned one and is supposed to be safe for miners," he said.

Longmei Mining Group is a key State-owned mining company with an annual output of 56 million tons of coal. It ranked 12th among China's top 100 mining companies and seventh out of the top 50 in terms of coal output, according to its official website.

The Xinxing coal mine has been operating for 84 years, with an annual production capacity of 1.45 million tons.