Miners accuse bosses of neglect after blast

Miners accuse bosses of neglect after blast

Xinhua News Agency

November 29 2004

Angry workers and relatives of 141 miners missing after a gas blast in a northern China pit turned on the management, slamming its handling of the aftermath and its safety practices on Monday.

According to state media, a fire broke out at the same mine a week ago but, despite miners' concerns, they were ordered to continue working or face fines and other punishment.

"They often let miners go down to the shaft even when the gas density is unsafe," said Tang Longqing, a 46-year-old miner.

The Beijing Times, China Youth Daily and other newspapers said the fire that started on November 22 in the vast mine in Tongchuan city, Shaanxi province took a week to extinguish.

Mine bosses across China, where accidents are common, often neglect safety and keep miners working to reap profits from high demand, experts say. Prior to Sunday's gas explosion that killed at least 25, residents living in the mine compound said workers had complained of high gas levels but mine bosses insisted they continue going underground.

Toxic gas hampered the search for the trapped coal miners on Monday and an official said their chances of survival were "extremely slight".

High levels of carbon monoxide kept rescuers from reaching the site, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

The accident came just weeks after another coal mine explosion killed 148 people elsewhere in central China in the country's deadliest mining accident since 2000.

An official at the Shaanxi coal mine safety bureau said today that hope was fading fast for the trapped miners.

Some 127 workers managed to escape the state-owned mine, Xinhua said, citing the State Bureau of Production Safety. Forty-five were admitted to hospital, 11 with serious injuries. - Sapa-AP