Chinese coal mine collapse kills 13
A coal mine collapse in China’s far west region killed 13 miners in the latest incident to hit the country's disaster-plagued industry.
Fourteen people were working underground yesterday when the cave-in occurred at the privately owned Guangyuan Colliery in Fukang, a city in the far west Xinjiang region, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
Xinhua said rescuers had located the bodies of 13 miners, apparently killed by fumes released by the shaft’s collapse, which may have been triggered by a landslide. One miner managed to escape and was in hospital in critical condition, it said.
Last July, a blast at Fukang’s Shenlong coal mine killed 83 people. In the wake of that explosion, a deputy mayor in charge of work safety was arrested for allegedly taking bribes from local miner owners, state media reported earlier.
China’s coal mines are the world’s deadliest, with more than 5,000 fatalities a year caused by gas leaks, explosions and floods despite repeated government promises to improve safety.
