Bosses were gambling with workers' lives, says Guangdong party chief
The Guangdong coal mine that flooded on Sunday, trapping 123 miners, had been operating in defiance of a government order to halt production last month, it emerged yesterday.
The order was issued by the Meizhou city government after another coal mine accident that killed 16 people, Xinhua reported.
Rescuers revised the number of miners trapped from 102 to 123 yesterday after gathering reports from miners' relatives.
By last night, more than two days after the accident at the Daxing Colliery in the town of Huanghuai in northern Guangdong, none of the workers had been rescued.
The accident prompted severe criticism by the head of the State Administration of Work Safety, Li Yizhong. 'This is a typical case in which mine owners make money, miners lose their lives and the government pays the bill,' Xinhua quoted Mr Li as saying.
He blasted local authorities for granting the colliery a safety licence - one of the three licences required for production - in June, saying that they had made 'serious mistakes'.
