Deadly Explosion in Chinese Mine

A coal mine explosion in a northern Chinese region killed 17 people on Saturday and left 10 others trapped, state media and officials said.

Four miners were rescued after the blast, which occurred when 31 people were working underground, said the Chifeng city government in China’s Inner Mongolia region.

China’s official Xinhua news agency also reported that 17 miners were killed in the blast. Rescuers were searching for the 10 remaining miners trapped by the explosion at a coal mine run by the Baoma Mining Co. Ltd. News of the blast came just hours after 21 Chinese miners who were trapped for four days after an explosion hit their unlicensed coal mine were confirmed dead in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province.

Four people were arrested in connection with that disaster. China’s mining industry has long been among the world’s deadliest and top work safety regulators have acknowledged some mines cut corners on safety standards because of financial pressure.

Xinhua reported that the 400 workers trying to rescue more miners were being hindered by debris blocking some of the mine’s passageways.

Gas explosions inside mines are often caused when a flame or electrical spark ignites gas leaking from the coal seam. Ventilation systems are supposed to prevent gas from becoming trapped.

The State Administration of Work Safety ordered an investigation into the blast, “adding that those responsible must be strictly punished”.

Local officials in Chongqing ordered the temporary shutdown of coal mines producing fewer than 90,000 tons a year, Xinhua said.

China’s mining industry has long been among the world’s deadliest.