The number of dead in China’s worst mining accident in two years rose to 107 yesterday after three more bodies were pulled out of the coal mine, state media said.
The state-run Xinhua news agency cited local authorities as saying the bodies of two workers were retrieved yesterday morning, with a third pulled out in the afternoon. The report said the search continued for the last two people missing under ground at the state-run Xingxing mine in Hegang City, Heilongjiang Province.
China’s mine safety authorities have blamed crowded conditions, insufficient ventilation and slow rescue efforts for the high death toll in the gas explosion, which hit before dawn on Saturday when 528 miners were underground.
The blast was a blow to the government’s recent efforts to improve safety standards in the industry, the deadliest in the world.
The families of 18 of the miners killed have already signed one-time compensation agreements with the mine’s owner, the Hegang branch of the Heilongjiang Longmei Mining Holding Group, worth 102,600 yuan (US$15,000) each, according to a report in the Wuhan Evening News.
The Xinxing mine’s director, deputy director and chief engineer have been fired, an employee has said. He refused to give his name because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
China has closed or absorbed hundreds of smaller, private mines into state-owned operations, which are considered generally safer.
However, some of the most deadly accidents this year occurred at state-run mines.
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