(Clearwisdom.net) According to the April 29 report from Legal System Daily, the national coal mine safety in production situations appears to be slipping since the beginning of April 2002. From April 1 to April 28, a total of 125 accidents have occurred and 329 people died as a result. Seven of the accidents were especially severe resulting in more than 10 deaths per accident, and 114 people died combined, which exceeds the monthly death average last year. The reporter obtained the news from the national production safety telephone conference that convened today.

The following are details of the seven severe accidents:

On April 2, 2002, after passing the provincial level inspection, in the coal mine of Xinzhuang Town in Feng County, Yichun City, Jiangxi Province, while the workers were repairing the ventilation equipment inside the #16 tunnel, the ventilation became seriously inadequate, leading to an accumulation of gas. The miner's lamp exploded, and a gas explosion ensued. Sixteen people died as a result.

On April 7, 2002, at the entrance of #3 coal transportation tunnel at Luling Coal Mine of Huaibei Mining Corp. in Anhui Province, coal suddenly crashed down and inundated the area, causing 13 deaths.

On April 8, there was a gas explosion at the #194 mine located in the 5^th mining area of Donghai Coal Mine managed by Jixi Mine Bureau, Heilongjiang Province, which caused 24 deaths.

On April 19, an explosion occurred because of gas accumulation and subsequent detonation in Qiyi Coal Mine at Hanjiagou Village at Liyuan Town, Qinyuan County, Changzhi City, Shanxi Province. Twelve people died.

On April 22, at the entrance to the south mine tunnel of the Zhongliangshan Coal Fields and Gas Company in Chongqing City, there was a sudden explosion of coal and gas. Fifteen people died.

On April 24, a gas explosion occurred at the #4234 mine of the 3^rd district of Huashan Coal Mine managed by Panzhihua Mine Bureau, Sichuan Province. Twenty-three people died in the accident.

On April 25, a gas explosion occurred causing a large area of the roof to collapse in Bashuiping Jiushimen of Kailuan Linxi Mine, Hebei Province. As a result, 11 people died.

Upon analysis it has been discovered that currently the big mines owned by the state tend to have more accidents. Within the month of April, five extremely severe accidents occurred and 101 people died, which had not happened since the completion of the safety renovation project last year. At the same time, incidents of sudden deluge of coal and gas, and gas explosions have suddenly increased. Each of the above 7 severe accidents has been due to these types of explosions which also had not happened before. Besides these, the coal mines owned by the villages and towns have had more accidents as well since the beginning of this year: a total of 86 accidents and 174 deaths. Compared with the past, there are 61 more accidents, an increase of 244%; and 47 more deaths, an increase of 37%. Accidents in small coalmines mostly occurred in the provinces of Sichuan, Chongqing, Hunan, Guizhou, and Yunnan.

Posting date: 5/4/2002
Original article date: 4/29/2002
Category: Latest News from China
Translated on 5/2/2002
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2002/5/1/29348.html

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