Flood traps 44 in coal mine
Flood traps 44 in coal mine
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Sunday, 21, May 2006 02:20
A flooded coal mine has left 44 miners trapped underground in northern China, according to reports.
Rescue attempts are underway but officials are not sure the miners are still alive, Xinhua News Agency claimed.
The flood happened on Thursday in the Xinjing Coal Mine in Shanxi province while 145 miners were working underground.
Most of the men escaped, but 44 are still trapped. Mine managers attempted a cover-up at the time and said that only five miners were missing, the news agency said.
The man in charge of the mine is said to have gone into hiding, while other managers apparently drove relatives of the missing miners by taxi into Inner Mongolia to stop them from rioting or talking to reporters.
Rescue workers are currently using pumps to drain the mine, according to state television.
It is the biggest accident so far in China's mining industry, which results in thousands of deaths every year due to floods, fires and explosions.
The Xinjing Coal Mine was said to be operating at 10 times its recommended level, with more coal being dug out in one month than it was supposed to produce in a year.