Two coal mine accidents in the Beijing area claimed four lives
during the seven-day National Day holidays.
According to Beijing Municipal Administration of Production
Safety, the first accident occurred around 11:00 AM October 5 at
Xingbao Mining's Baoshui mine in Fangshan District.
Three workers -- two of them brothers from nearby Baoshui
Village -- had just finished filling a cart with coal. The younger
brother and the third worker were pushing the cart up the mineshaft
when a portion of the ceiling collapsed, burying Wu Lingshui.
Rescue teams were unable to reach Wu for 24 hours. He was dead
when they removed him from the rubble.
Wu had worked for Xingbao for about five years. He is survived
by a wife and two daughters.
Xingbao Mining, a privately owned company, employs 50 to 60
workers in its mine. The company refused to grant an interview to
Beijing Times reporters.
Local villagers are not surprised at the roof collapse, they
told the Beijing Times reporters. They say that a number
of small private companies operate mines in the area, often using
inadequate roof and wall supports in the mineshafts. Once the coal
is removed, the walls are weakened and the roof may easily
collapse.
The second accident took place at Da'anshan Coal Mine at about
4:40 AM on October 7 when a coal-mud flow buried three miners. They
had died of suffocation when their bodies were recovered.
Coal mines in the greater Beijing area have been ordered
repeatedly to enhance safety and remove any potential dangers,
according to Beijing Municipal Administration of Production
Safety.
Thirty people have been killed in 18 coal mine accidents this
year in the Beijing area, according to the municipal administration
on coal mine safety.
(China.org.cn, Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2004)