Fatal accidents trigger concerns over state-owned coal mines

A series of fatal accidents in China have triggered safety concerns over state-owned coal mines, which are believed to be much safer than private ones.

In the latest case, a total of 35 people died with another 11 missing in two gas blasts in Babao Coal Mine in Baishan City, in northeast China's Jilin Province on Friday and Monday.

Rescue efforts for the 11 are underway.

Sun Xuehui, leader of the rescue team, said subsequent explosions are possible, and as of 8 p.m. Tuesday rescuers were still unable to enter the shaft.

The chances of survival for those trapped are slim, said Sun.

According to a statement issued by the State Administration of Work Safety on Tuesday, the Jilin Provincial Government has requested that all coal mines in the province halt production for safety checks.

Seven officials responsible for the explosions have been placed under investigation, with Wang Shengyu, deputy manager of Tonghua Mining (Group) Co., Ltd. (Tonghua), being detained by police, government authorities said.

Among the seven are Zhao Xianwen, director of Tonghua, Wang Li, the company's deputy director, and Xu Xiaodong, deputy director of Jilin Province Coal Industry Group Co., Ltd.. They have been suspended from their posts, pending an investigation.

Babao is a mine of Tonghua, and the Jilin Province Coal Industry Group is the parent company of the mining firm.

Six people died, four were injured, and another 11 remain missing after an explosion occurred around 10 a.m. on Monday.

A preliminary investigation indicated that a mine operator saw smoke coming out of the mine at 8 a.m. and reported it to a principal, who arranged for 21 miners to go into the mine to carry out rescue operations without first obtaining instructions or permission.

The provincial government has demanded that local authorities spare no efforts to rescue the missing miners.

The explosion came after a similar blast hit the same mine around 10:40 p.m. on Friday, killing 29 people and injuring 12 others. Ning Lianjiang, chief engineer of Tonghua was among the dead. He had led a safety team of 41 technical workers to repair a reported gas leak when the explosion happened.