Safety failures found in pit

• Source: Global Times
• [02:28 November 24 2009]
• Comments

A detailed report on the cause of the explosion will not be available for 60 days, the work safety administration told the Global Times Monday.

In addition to the deaths, 65 people were hurt and many remained hospitalized Monday with injuries ranging from gas poisoning and burns to fractures and bruises, according to the Xinhua News Agency. But the toll could have been much worse.

The 528 miners working the night shift at the time of the explosion was about half the number of the day shift, which exceeds normal standards.

Compensation

Relatives of the victims stormed the mine's entrance Monday, demanding answers from owners and clashing with local police, Reuters reported.

The mine has rolled out two compensation plans, but it was unclear whether it had reached any agreement with the families of the victims.

According to the first plan, each victim is eligible for 11,400 yuan ($1,670) in mortuary grant-in-aid and a 92,000-yuan lump sum of aid for occupational death. Each victim's wife could get a pension of up to 708 yuan a month, while other dependent family members are entitled to 531 yuan a month.

The second plan states that each victim's family could get 326,000 yuan in a lump-sum compensation package.

"The amount has risen year by year according to the current life standard,"Wang Shuhe, the deputy general director of the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety, told the Global Times.

He said the compensation might not satisfy every victim and their relatives, but the government has a specific policy on calculating the compensation, which he said was arranged with the interests of the families in mind.

The Longmei Mining Group is a key State-owned mine with an annual output of 56 million tons of coal. It ranks No. 12 among China's top 100 mining companies, according to its website.

China reported a decline in mining incidents in recent years, as it has shut down or merged many smaller and private mines into State-owned operations, which are considered generally safer.

However, the mergers don't necessarily address safety issues if the owners compromise safety measures for profit.

In a separate colliery blast Sunday in central China's Hunan Province, the death toll had risen to 11 Monday, and three people were still missing, the local government confirmed.

Guo Qiang and Liang Chen contributed to the story