China coal mining disaster kills 16 in Chongqing, with one survivor hospitalised
- Preliminary investigation finds that a conveyor belt fire released excessive levels of carbon monoxide into the Songzao mine
- In August, electrical wiring exploded at a mine in eastern China’s Shandong province, killing seven people
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Sixteen people were killed and one survivor was sent to hospital after being trapped in a coal mine accident in southwest China on Sunday, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
There were excessive levels of carbon monoxide as a conveyor belt burned, trapping the 17 miners inside the Songzao mine, which belongs to a local energy company in Chongqing municipality, the Ministry of Emergency Management said in an online statement on Sunday morning.
A team led by officials from the National Coal Mine Safety Administration was dispatched to the scene.
The local government also sent police, medics, firefighters and emergency management staff to the scene, Xinhua reported. By Sunday afternoon, just the one survivor had been rescued, and an investigation into the cause of the disaster was under way.
China has a poor record of industrial safety, especially at underground mines. Just last month, electrical wiring exploded in a mine in eastern China’s Shandong province, killing seven of the 19 staff on duty.
As of the end of July, there had been a total of 63 mining accidents this year, with 88 deaths, according to the National Coal Mine Safety Administration.
At the end of 2019, the administration issued a statement stressing the importance of mining safety after four accidents occurred in November and December.
The statement said the administration had found that the accidents were largely caused by a lack of safety awareness, bad management, and illegal or risky mining activities. It demanded that all levels of government place greater emphasis on safety measures, including fire and flood prevention, as well as step up punishments for illegal activities and put greater effort into investigating disasters.
