Latest mine accidents kill 16, 45 missing
By Mu Zi (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-12-05 05:30

By press time last night, 73 miners had been rescued but at least 167 were said to have been killed. Two other workers above the ground also died.

Zhao Tiechui, head of the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety Supervision, said the total number of miners underground when the accident happened was "close to 300."

His remarks leave room for further speculation on the number of miners who were working at the time of the tragedy. An investigation is still under way.

Zhao revealed his figures at a working conference which marked the setting up of a high-profile investigation team, led by him, into the November 27 accident.

"The management of the colliery was extremely confused," Zhao said. "Attendance registration, lamp issuing and security checks on miners were in a complete mess."

Initially, the figure for miners underground at the time of the accident was put at 159. It quickly went up to 221, then climbed to 241, 242, and 243.

Many of China's mine disasters are blamed on managers who ignore safety rules or fail to install required ventilation or fire control equipment, often in collusion with local officials. The issue is further complicated by the country's soaring demand for power to drive its booming economy.

Zhao said China plans to close 4,000 small coal mines both private and State-owned ones annually in the next three years.

"We can at most keep 10,000 or so small coal mines," added Zhao, who also promised to drastically reduce the number of major accidents at coal mines in the next two years.

China has 24,000 small coal mines with annual production output ranging from 10,000 tons to 30,000 tons, accounting for 70 per cent of the country's coal mining ventures.

"Closing small coal mines won't affect the country's demand for coal," said Zhao, adding that China has approved the establishment of 13 large coal production bases, each capable of churning out more than 100 million tons of coal annually.