China Has Second Deadly Coal Mine Blast in Three Days
Loretta Ng
Bloomberg
1 December 2004
A gas blast at a coal mine in southern China killed at least 13 people, the second accident in three days after an explosion in the north killed 166 miners.
Today's blast occurred at 1:30 a.m. in Guizhou province,
where 49 miners were working, the State Administration of Work Safety said. In Shaanxi province, the death toll from the Nov. 28 explosion rose to 166 after all the trapped miners were declared dead, China National Radio reported, citing an unidentified government spokesman. State-run Xinhua News Agency earlier said 65 were confirmed dead, with 101 others trapped.
The tragedies underscore the price China may be paying for an economy that expands 9 percent annually, the fastest growing among the world's 10 biggest. The nation, the biggest consumer and producer of coal, has one of the worst mine-safety records, human-rights groups say. Old pits are kept open to meet demand for coal and other raw materials needed to fuel growth.
"The government's priority is to produce as much coal as
possible," Robin Munro, research director of human-rights group China Labour Bulletin, said in telephone interview in Hong Kong.
"By not enforcing the law and not arresting undisciplined coal mine operators, that's encouraging private coal mine owners to treat miners' lives as an acceptable production cost."
In the first nine months of this year, 4,153 people died in 2,796 coal mine accidents, according to China's safety bureau. Last year, 17,315 workers died in mine-related accidents, the agency said.
Death Toll
China Labour Bulletin puts the annual number of deaths in
the industry at about 20,000. Many accidents and deaths go
unreported because management wants to keep the pits open or fear arrest and other punishment.
The blast at the state-owned Chenjiashan mine in Shaanxi
province was China's third major mining accident in six weeks and possibly the worst in at least 15 years. State-run China Central television showed grieving women slumped on the streets crying as other people tried to comfort them.
Officials and angry relatives blamed the blast on
management's drive for profit, according to local media. Some family members broadcast on television said a fire broke out at the same pit and high gas density was detected about a week before the blast.
"This is not acceptable by international human rights or
any standards," Munro said. "The government should close down these mines until their managers and owners have demonstrated they have the sufficient safety equipment for miners."
Despite concerns from miners, management at Chenjiashan mine ordered employees to continue working or face fines, the family members said on television. The blast knocked out the ventilation system, and toxic gas and fires hampered rescue workers from reaching the trapped miners.
Coal Prices
Coal prices began climbing as early as late last year.
Demand for coal, which accounts for 67 percent of China's power needs, surged as the economy expanded 9.5 percent in the first nine months amid a coal-transportation bottleneck and poor rail networks.
There's no benchmark for coal prices in China. Utilities
such as Huaneng Power International Inc., the nation's largest power producer listed in Hong Kong, said fuel costs for each megawatt-hour of power generated rose 32 percent in the first nine months.
"Coal prices were too low for too long because the
government controlled prices," said Joe Zhang, head China
research strategist at UBS Securities Asia Ltd. in Hong Kong.
"There was little money to make and to be used to improve safety conditions. The inadequate investment and a rush to open new mines as demand grows have compounded safety problems."