An official from the Shangtuancheng Town government refused to talk to CLB or give any details. Indeed she told CLB that she ‘only knew what she was supposed to know’ and she refused to give any explanation for the fire and would not say if the mine was privately owned or if it was run by the township. An official from the Wuan Municipal Propaganda Department also did not know who owned the mine. However this official did inform CLB that the fire was caused by sparks from the electric cable igniting the timber. CLB also learned that most of the 26 victims were migrant workers from Sichuan and Guizhou provinces. According to the officials, the families were on their way to the mine. One villager informed CLB that the shaft where the accident took place was located in the northern pit of the Gaocun Coalmine was in fact subcontracted to a villager in Gaocun village.
CLB then spoke to an official from the Wuan City trade union who told us that he had not heard of any accident and since it was a Saturday, union leaders were at home and could not be contacted. We also spoke to a Mr. Hou, from the township Party committee who had helped with the rescue and aftercare work at the mine. He reported that there had not been enough time to analyze the true cause of the accident, but the subcontractor had been detained by the police.
Please check list of December 2003 English transcripts for forthcoming translation of audio file from 27 December.