China Tin Mine Accident Traps 200

China Tin Mine Accident Traps 200

Guardian, July 30, 2001

Shanghai, China (AP) - Floodwaters quickly filled a tin mine in south China, trapping more than 200 miners below ground, a state-run newspaper said Monday.

Rescuers have found more than 70 bodies, the Shanghai Youth Daily said. The newspaper said it was unclear whether there were any survivors from the July 16 accident in Dachang, a village in the southern region of Guangxi.

If more than 200 miners are confirmed dead, the accident would be one of the deadliest in China this year.

Officials at the mine denied there was an accident. But a Dachang fire official, who would only give his surname, Hua, confirmed the accident took place.

He said firefighters were at the mine searching for survivors. He said he didn't know the numbers of dead or missing.

Miners apparently struck an abandoned well while digging a new shaft, the Shanghai newspaper said. It said water quickly filled the mine, cutting escape routes.

Rescuers were pumping mine shafts dry in an effort to reach any survivors, it said. Some bodies have been carried to the surface and identified by families.

The Shanghai Youth Daily said its reporter was at first blocked from approaching the mine as part of what it alleged was a cover-up of the accident. It said the mine owner paid at least $2,500 to families of the dead to dissuade them from talking to outsiders.

Last week, an explosion at a coal mine in the eastern province of Jiangsu left 105 dead or missing and feared dead.

China's mines are the world's deadliest, with explosions, floods, fires and other accidents killing thousands every year. Mines often lack adequate safety equipment and many operate illegally, sometimes employing inexperienced farmers.

The government has threatened stiff penalties for officials who fail to improve public safety. Accidents at mines, factories and public places killed 47,000 people in the first half of this year, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported last week.