20 die as rail cars plunge into coal mine in Baiyin, Gansu

A coal-mining accident in northern Gansu province yesterday left 20 miners dead and 14 injured, state media said.

The cable controlling a train taking workers into the mine in Baiyin city near Lanzhou snapped, sending the 34 miners plummeting into the pit, Xinhua reported.

Rescuers retrieved all the miners and the injured had been transported to hospital, including three who were in a serious condition, it said.

Xinhua quoted company staff as saying the cable that snapped was replaced on July 29, but an initial investigation suggested the carriages were overloaded.

Officials at the Baiyin city work-safety administration, which oversees the Qusheng mine, refused to comment.

The coal mine, run by Qusheng Coal Mining, was operating illegally, as it was one of the 55 mines safety authorities had ordered to halt production for an industrial reshuffle.