A total of 26 workers were killed in an oil tank explosion and a coal mine blast in Xinjiang on 28 October, according to official media.
An explosion happened when 24 workers were carrying out antiseptic treatment on an oil tank under construction in Dushanzi, a district of Karamay city, about 260 kilometres from Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang. Twelve bodies were found at the site and 12 others were injured and hospitalised. Six of the injured were later discharged from hospital after treatment.
The 100,000-cubic-metre tank belongs to Dushanzi Petrochemical Company, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). It was built to store crude oil, Xinhua reported.
Initial investigations show that the explosion was caused by the volatilisation of organic substances in the antiseptic paint the workers were using on the tank, according to local safety production supervision officials.
In another coal mine explosion in Xinjiang on the same day, 14 miners were killed in a state-run coal mine in Dianchanggou township, Miquan city, Hui Autonomous Prefecture of Changji. Six other people working at the entrance to the mine received burns to their hands and faces. Five of them were hospitalised and the other one suffered minor injuries.
The mine, which lies more than 30 kilometres east of Urumqi, belongs to Xingyaneng Construction and Chemical Industrial Company. It was built in 1958 and has an annual output capacity of 120,000 tons. It was contracted out in March 2000 and employed 113 staff, according to Xinhua.
Sources: Xinhua News Agency (28 October 2006, 29 October 2006)
31 October 2006
An explosion happened when 24 workers were carrying out antiseptic treatment on an oil tank under construction in Dushanzi, a district of Karamay city, about 260 kilometres from Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang. Twelve bodies were found at the site and 12 others were injured and hospitalised. Six of the injured were later discharged from hospital after treatment.
The 100,000-cubic-metre tank belongs to Dushanzi Petrochemical Company, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). It was built to store crude oil, Xinhua reported.
Initial investigations show that the explosion was caused by the volatilisation of organic substances in the antiseptic paint the workers were using on the tank, according to local safety production supervision officials.
In another coal mine explosion in Xinjiang on the same day, 14 miners were killed in a state-run coal mine in Dianchanggou township, Miquan city, Hui Autonomous Prefecture of Changji. Six other people working at the entrance to the mine received burns to their hands and faces. Five of them were hospitalised and the other one suffered minor injuries.
The mine, which lies more than 30 kilometres east of Urumqi, belongs to Xingyaneng Construction and Chemical Industrial Company. It was built in 1958 and has an annual output capacity of 120,000 tons. It was contracted out in March 2000 and employed 113 staff, according to Xinhua.
Sources: Xinhua News Agency (28 October 2006, 29 October 2006)
31 October 2006