Tragic Coal Mine Accidents Claim Lives in China: An Urgent Call for Improved Safety Measures
Daniel Kim Views
A gas explosion in Anhui Province
A collapse accident in Shanxi Province
Both accidents can be seen as man-made disasters without a doubt
Two coal mine accidents occurred on the same day, the 11th, in China, the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal, resulting in a total of 16 deaths and disappearances. The chances of survival for the four missing miners who were buried are slim, based on previous cases.
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According to a report by the state-run Xinhua News Agency on the 12th, a gas explosion occurred in an underground tunnel at the Xieqiao coal mine under the Huaihe Energy Group in Fuyang City, Anhui Province at 12:10 pm (local time) the previous day, resulting in seven deaths. Two people are reportedly trapped in the tunnel waiting for rescue, bringing the total number of victims to nine.
The report states that the accident occurred while 24 miners were working. Fortunately, 22 people, excluding the two missing, could barely escape the scene. However, seven out of eight were seriously injured at the scene and eventually died. One person is currently receiving treatment at a hospital. Rescue workers are reportedly working to find two missing miners.
Another collapse occurred around 10:45 pm (local time) the same day at a coal mine of the Taoyuan Xinlong Mining Company in Zhongyang County, Shanxi Province. This resulted in seven people being buried in an instant. Five of them were found relatively quickly, but they were all dead. Rescue operations are currently underway to find the two buried miners.
As this incident demonstrates, major coal mine accidents occur frequently in China every year, almost like a daily occurrence. Just this year, a natural gas leak occurred at a coal mine in Pingdingshan City, Henan Province, in January, resulting in eight deaths. Additionally, eight people went missing, resulting in a total of 16 casualties.
Earlier in December of last year, 12 people died and 13 were injured in a mining vehicle derailment accident at a coal mine in Jixi City, Heilongjiang Province. In November, 11 miners were killed in a tunnel collapse at a coal mine in Shuangyashan City, Heilongjiang Province.
In September, 16 people died in a fire at a coal mine in Guizhou Province. Over a year ago, in February, 53 people were killed in a collapse at an open-pit coal mine in the Nei Menggu (Inner Mongolia) Autonomous Region. It can be said that this was a major disaster that demonstrated China’s status as a “major accident country” due to its safety insensitivity.
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