September 07, 2008

Gas blast leaves 9 missing in south China mine

Chinese media reported that a mine gas blast in south China has left 9 people missing. Xinhua news agency without specifying what kind of mine it was said that the explosion happened on Tuesday when the workers were exploring reserves in a mine at Huaihua in Hunan province.

On the other hand, hopes are fading for the 181 miners trapped in a state-owned colliery in Shandong province since August 17th 2007 though rescuers were still struggling to pump the water out.

China has been hit by a string of fatal work safety accidents in the past month. Its coal industry is the deadliest in the world, with 2,163 miners killed in 1,320 accidents in the first seven months of 2007.