Mine explosion death toll rises to 19 in central China, 24 still trapped underground

Toll rises to 19 in blast at mine in central China

BEIJING — The death toll from an explosion at a mine in central China has risen to 19 people, with 24 still trapped underground, the government said Friday, in the second major mine disaster in the country this week.

Rescue attempts were continuing for 153 workers who’ve been trapped five days by flooding in a mine in northern Shanxi province. There have been no signs of life, but officials say they have not given up hope of finding survivors.

A gas leak caused the blast in the most recent mine accident, according to a report on the Web site for Luoyang city in China’s central province of Henan. It said 24 miners were believed to be trapped.

The official Xinhua News Agency said 20 workers escaped after blast Wednesday night and another 31 were rescued.

The city government report said 15 of the 19 dead were miners working underground at the time of the explosion and four people died above ground. It did not say if they were workers or passers-by.

Calls to the Luoyang city government office ran unanswered on Friday.

Xinhua said the mine boss, Wang Guozheng, has disappeared and authorities have ordered that his assets be frozen. Four county officials have been fired over the accident, but it did not say what they may have done wrong.

Blasts and flooding are common in Chinese mines. The flood at the Wangjialing mine in Shanxi province started when workers digging tunnels broke through into an old shaft filled with water, a government safety body has said. It accused mine officials of ignoring safety rules and danger warnings in a rush to open the mine.

In a third accident, a coal mine fire in northwestern Shaanxi province killed nine people Thursday evening, Xinhua said. Another 17 miners managed to escape after the fire. Xinhua did not say what caused the accident.

China’s coal mines are the world’s deadliest, despite a successful multiyear government effort to reduce fatalities. Most accidents are blamed on failure to follow safety rules or lack of required ventilation, fire controls and equipment.

Accidents killed 2,631 coal miners in China last year, down from 6,995 deaths in 2002, the most dangerous year on record, according to the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety.