October 07, 2008

1 miner dead and 18 trapped in coal mine blast in Heilongjiang

Xinhua reported that a blast at a coal mine in northeastern China has killed 1 miner and trapped 18 others.

Xinhua news agency cited the provincial work safety administration as saying that the blast happened on December 29th 2007 evening at a privately owned mine in Mudanjiang at Heilongjiang province.

Xinhua said that rescue work was ongoing and authorities were investigating the cause of the accident.

It is noted that China's coal mines are the world's deadliest, with fatal accidents occurring almost on a daily basis as mine owners push production beyond safety limits in the face of soaring profits. Chinese government has taken pains to clean up the sector and has tried to boost official accountability, but 3,069 coal miners have died in January to October 2007 period.