Rescuers search for 31 missing in coal mine flood in northern China; 46 workers saved

Coal mine flood traps 31 people in northern China

BEIJING — Rescuers worked to save 31 coal miners trapped underground by a flood early Monday in northern China, state media reported.

Although China’s mine safety record has improved in recent years, it is still the deadliest in the world, with blasts and other accidents common.

Rescuers pumped water from the Mt. Camel Coal Mine in Wuhai city in the northern region of Inner Mongolia, where the flood trapped the miners earlier in the day, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

An initial investigation showed 46 of the 77 miners working in the flooded pit were rescued and 31 remain trapped, it said.

Calls to the Wuhai city government office rang unanswered Monday. An earlier report posted on the Work Safety Administration Web site said 44 people were missing.

According to China’s Work Safety Administration, 2,631 people died in coal mine accidents in 2009. Many were blamed on lax safety methods and poor training as mining companies scramble to feed the country’s voracious demand for coal.