21 Chinese miners trapped for 4 days confirmed dead

BEIJING (AP) — Twenty-one miners who were trapped for four days after an explosion hit their unlicensed coal mine have been confirmed dead, and four people have been arrested in connection with the disaster, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Saturday.

Among the four suspects are the mine owner and three managers, the emergency rescue headquarters said in a statement carried by Xinhua.

One miner is missing in the city of Qitaihe in Heilongjiang province in northeast China, and the rest of the bodies were retrieved on Friday night, Xinhua said.

China is the world's top producer and consumer of coal, and government officials have made a commitment to shutting down unlicensed mines in an attempt to improve safety. </s> BEIJING (AP) — Twenty-one miners who were trapped for four days after an explosion hit their unlicensed coal mine have been confirmed dead, and four people have been arrested in connection with the disaster, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Saturday.

Among the four suspects are the mine owner and three managers, the emergency rescue headquarters said in a statement carried by Xinhua.

One miner is missing in the city of Qitaihe in Heilongjiang province in northeast China, and the rest of the bodies were retrieved on Friday night, Xinhua said.

China is the world’s top producer and consumer of coal, and government officials have made a commitment to shutting down unlicensed mines in an attempt to improve safety.

Although the cause of the blast has not yet been identified, such incidents usually occur when unventilated coal gas is ignited by a spark or open flame.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> BEIJING (AP) — China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency says 21 miners who were trapped for four days after an explosion have been confirmed dead. One is missing.

Xinhua quoted Heilongjiang provincial authorities in northeast China as saying the miners’ deaths were confirmed on Friday night.

State media reported the mine in the city of Qitaihe was unlicensed and the managers were being questioned.

China is the world’s top producer and consumer of coal, and government officials have made a commitment to shutting down unlicensed mines in an attempt to improve safety.

Although the cause of the blast has not yet been identified, such incidents usually occur when unventilated coal gas is ignited by a spark or open flame. </s> Rescuers work near the site of a coal mine disaster in Qitaihe, Heilongjiang province, China, November 30, 2016. China Daily/via REUTERS

BEIJING (Reuters) - The death toll from a northern Chinese coal mine disaster rose to 32 on Sunday, state media reported, the latest accident in a country with a poor record of industrial safety.

The blast took place on Saturday in a small mine in the Inner Mongolia region, next to Mongolia, Xinhua news agency said.

A total of 181 workers were initially trapped underground and 149 of them were rescued, Xinhua said.

This was the second major coal mine accident in the past week, coming at a time when the government told miners to resume production to tame high coal prices and meet winter demand.

In the first disaster, authorities confirmed on Friday that 21 people died after a coal mine blast in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang.

Coal accounts for almost two-thirds of China's energy consumption, but its mines are among the world's deadliest, due to lax enforcement of safety standards.

China has ordered all of the country's coal mines to conduct a safety overhaul in the past month, the deputy director of the country's work safety watchdog said on Friday.

The accidents have alarmed regulators over the past month as China ramps up coal production to meet winter demand. Thirty-three people died in a gas explosion at a coal mine in the southwestern city of Chongqing on Oct. 31. </s> BEIJING (AP) — A coal mine explosion in a northern Chinese region killed 17 people 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 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., Xinhua said.

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 that some mines cut corners on safety standards due to financial pressure. </s> In the first incident, authorities confirmed on Friday night that 21 people died after a coal mine blast in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, the official Xinhua news agency said.

It happened at a private coal mine in Qitaihe city late on Tuesday, trapping 22 workers underground, it said. Rescue work continues to reach the one person left trapped.

On Saturday, 17 people died in a coal mine explosion in northern China's Inner Mongolia region, Xinhua added.

Many others remain trapped, it said, without giving details.

Coal accounts for almost two-thirds of China's energy consumption, but its mines are among the world's deadliest, due to lax enforcement of safety standards.

China has ordered all of the country's coal mines to conduct a safety overhaul in the past month, the deputy director of the country's work safety watchdog said on Friday.

A flurry of accidents have alarmed regulators over the past month as China ramps up coal production to meet winter demand. Thirty-three people died in a gas explosion at a coal mine in the southwestern city of Chongqing on Oct. 31. </s> BEIJING: Fifteen miners are confirmed dead and 18 missing after a coal mine explosion in southwest China Monday, state media reported, the latest mining disaster in the country.

More than 200 rescue workers including firefighters, armed police and mine experts are searching shafts at the Jinshangou mine in the town of Laisu in the Chongqing Municipality’s Yongchuan district, Xinhua news agency reported.

It said 35 miners were working underground when the gas explosion ripped through the mine in the morning and just two managed to escape.

All coal mines in the municipality have been ordered to stop production for safety checks following the blast at the privately-owned mine, which is licensed to produce 60,000 tons of coal a year.

China is the world’s largest coal producer and deadly accidents are common.

In September at least 18 people were killed after a mine explosion in the northwestern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

In March 19 people died in a coal mine accident in the northern province of Shanxi.

Officials say the number dying annually in the country’s mines has fallen substantially in the past decade, to fewer than 1,000 a year.

But some rights groups argue the actual figures are significantly higher due to under-reporting. — AFP </s> BEIJING (AP) — Thirty-two miners were confirmed dead Sunday in the second coal mine explosion in a week in China, state-run media reported.

The gas explosion hit the mine in Chifeng city in the Inner Mongolia region midday Saturday. Out of 181 miners working underground, 149 managed to get out and the rest died, official Xinhua News Agency reported.

The mine was operated by the Baoma Mining Co. Ltd., Xinhua said.

News of the blast came just hours after 21 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 that some mines cut corners on safety standards due to financial pressure. </s> Eighteen others who were trapped in the mine are still unaccounted for, Xinhua reported.

The explosion happened at about 11:30 a.m. (11.30 p.m. Sunday ET) at the privately-owned Jinshangou Coal Mine in Laisu town in Chongqing's Yongchuan district, Xinhua reported.

Two of the 35 miners underground at the time managed to escape, according to a statement posted to the Chongqing press office's official Weibo social media page.

More than 200 rescue workers, including firefighters, police and rescue specialists are at the site, trying to locate and save the missing miners, Xinhua reported.

Chongqing's coal mine safety inspection bureau has ordered all coal mines in the municipality to halt production pending safety inspections, it reported. The cause of the explosion is under investigation, city officials said. Mining accidents are not uncommon in China. In March, 12 people were killed by a gas leak in a mine in the northeastern province of Jilin, while in January, four miners were rescued after 36 days of being trapped underground . At least one miner died in that accident.
The bodies of 21 coal miners are retrieved from an unlicensed coal mine in the Chinese city of Qitaihe in the province of Heilongjiang. Four people have been arrested including the owner of the mine and three managers.