BEIJING, Nov 28: An explosion ripped through a state-owned colliery in northeast China, killing 134 miners and trapping 15 underground, just days after Chinese leaders called for vigilance to prevent major accidents. The blast late on Sunday was the latest disaster to strike Heilongjiang, whose capital city, Harbin, was held hostage for five days by a toxic spill coursing through the Songhua river that provides its water supply, forcing a shut-down of tap water.
Li Yizhong, head of the country’s top work safety watchdog, urged about 270 rescue workers to spare no effort to save miners trapped at Dongfeng coal mine.
Late on Monday, the official Xinhua news agency said 134 of the 221 men working underground at the time of the blast had now been confirmed killed and 15 were still missing.
Investigators blamed the blast on coal-dust explosion, which knocked out all ventilation systems in the pit. The main system resumed operation on Monday.
The accident came about two weeks after an explosion at a chemical plant in nearby Jilin province poured 100 tons of cancer-causing benzene compounds into the Songhua river.
An 80-km slick passed down the Songhua River and out of Harbin at the weekend.
Making no mention of the toxic spill, President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao called last week for vigilance to prevent major accidents which cause huge casualties and property losses.
They urged law enforcement agencies to implement stricter inspection measures and punish those responsible in accordance with the law, state media said without elaborating.—Reuters
