68 miners died, 79 trapped underground after coal mine explosion in Heilongjiang

As of 2pm/> on 28 November, an explosion at a state-owned coal mine in Heilongjiang/> Province/>/> has killed 68 miners and trapped over 100 underground, according to state media reports.

A total of 221 miners were working underground when the blast went off at 9.40 pm/> on 27 November at Dongfeng Coal Mine, run by the Qitahe branch of the Longmei Mining (Group) Co., Ltd, according to the provincial coal mine safety bureau.

Rescuers have saved 74 miners but 79 others were still trapped in the mine. A 126-member rescue team are still trying to search for the miners trapped beneath the coal mine shaft after the blast.

Investigators said the tragedy was caused by coal-dust explosion, which knocked out all ventilation systems in the pit. As of the morning of 28 November, the main ventilation system resumed operation, according to Xinhua.

Longmei Group is a mining conglomerate consisted of four state-owned major coal businesses in Heilongjiang/>/>. It has a registered capital of 13 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion).

Since the People's Republic of China/>/> was established in 1949, there have been eight major coal mine disasters which each caused over 100 deaths. Six of these eight major coal mine accidents occurred after 2000 and four of them occurred in 11 months between 2004 and 2005. For details, see the table below:

Coal mine accidents that caused over 100 deaths

Date

Place

Number of Deaths

27 February 1950/>

Yiluo Coal Mine, run by Xinyu Coal Mine Co. Ltd, Henan/> Province/>/>

174

9 May 1960

Laobaidong Coal Mine, Datong/>, Shanxi/>/> Province

684

27 September 2000/>

Muchonggou Coal Mine, Shuicheng/>, Guizhou/>/> Province

162

20 June 2002/>

Chengzhihe Coal Mine, run by Jixi Mining Group, Heilongjiang/> Province/>/>

124

20 October 2004/>

Daping Coal Mine, Zhengzhou Coal Mine Group, Henan/> Province/>/>

148

28 November 2004/>

Chenjiashan Coal Mine, Tungchuan/>, Shaanxi/>/> Province

166

14 February 2005/>

Sunjiawan Coal Mine, Fuxin Mining Group, Liaoning/> Province/>/>

214

7 August 2005/>

Daxing Coal Mine, Huanghuai/> Town/>/>, Xingning/> City/>/>, Meizhou City/>, Guangdong/>/> Province

123

Source: Xinhuanet (28 November 2005/>), China/>/> Labour Bulletin (28 November 2005/>)