AND, It Still Goes On!

[John]

123 trapped in flooded coal mine in northern China
AP







BEIJING – At least 123 people were trapped underground Sunday after water gushed into a coal mine in northern China, a government agency said.

The Wangjialing coal mine in Shanxi province was flooded by underground water as 261 miners were working in the pit, the State Administration of Work Safety said on its Web site.

The administration said 138 of the miners were lifted safely to the ground but the others remained trapped and rescue work was under way. It said the cause of the flood was still under investigation.

Although China's mine safety record has improved in recent years, it is still the deadliest in the world, with blasts and other accidents common.

The mine is located between Xiangning county and the city of Hejin and covers an area of 70 square miles (180 square kilometers), the official Xinhua News Agency said. Calls to the mine rang unanswered.

State broadcaster CCTV said the heads of the country's coal mine and work safety administrations were leading a team of workers on their way to the site to assist with rescue efforts.

According to China's Work Safety Administration, 2,631 people died in coal mine accidents in 2009. Many accidents were blamed on lax safety methods and poor training as mining companies scramble to feed the country's voracious demand for coal.

[John]

Race on to rescue 153 trapped Chinese coal miners
AP





Flood traps miners in China Play Video Reuters – Flood traps miners in China

* National Forecast Play Video Weather Forecast Video:National Forecast weather.com

123 trapped in flooded China coal mine AFP/File – File photo shows miners entering a coal mine in China. At least 152 workers have been trapped when a …
By GILLIAN WONG, Associated Press Writer Gillian Wong, Associated Press Writer – 5 mins ago

XIANGNING, China – Rescuers working in a drizzling rain raced Monday to free 153 coal miners trapped deep underground by a flood that may have started when workers digging a new mine in northern China accidentally broke into a network of old, water-filled shafts.

Such derelict tunnels are posing new risks to miners across China even as the country improves safety in its notoriously hazardous mines, where accidents kill thousands each year.

So far, there has been no contact with the trapped miners, more than 24 hours after the flooding.

Rescuers worked to pump water from the Wangjialing coal mine in the mountains of northern China's Shanxi province. The state-owned mine about 400 miles (650 kilometers) southwest of Beijing was under construction and had been scheduled to start production later this year, the China Daily newspaper reported.

The accident could be one of the worst mining disasters in recent years if rescue efforts fail and would set back marked improvements in mining safety.

Some 261 workers were inside the Wangjialing mine when it flooded Sunday, and 108 escaped or were rescued, China's State Administration of Work Safety said in a statement on its Web site early Monday.

State television said the workers were trapped in nine different places in the mine, which was flooded with up to 5 million cubic feet (140,000 cubic meters) of water.

It would likely take three days to remove all the water, CCTV said.

At the mine, located at the end of a long winding mountain road, rescue workers strapped metal pipes and other parts of a pump onto a metal trolley and pushed it along rail tracks into the entrance, where it was lowered into the shaft.

About 30 people, many of them miners, stood quietly behind the police cordon watching the rescuers work.

Fan Leisheng, one of the miners who escaped, described the sudden rush of water that tore through the mine.

"It looked like a tidal wave, and I was so scared," Fan told China Central Television. "I immediately ran away and looked back to see some others hanging behind. I shouted at them to get out. It was unbelievable because I got out from 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) underground."

The official Xinhua News Agency reported that President Hu Jintao ordered local authorities to "spare no effort" in saving the trapped workers.

Officials have yet to declare the cause of the accident, but experts said it was likely that workers broke into the old shafts or pits of derelict mines that had filled with water.

"It could be that they broke into old workings, works that were not properly mapped out," said David Feickert, a coal mine safety adviser to the Chinese government. "That's a common problem with flooding, and Shanxi is an area where they have very extensive mining, a lot of old mines."

Though China's mining industry is still the world's deadliest, it has dramatically improved its safety record over the last seven years, said Feickert, who is based in Wanganui, New Zealand and Beijing.

Accidents killed 2,631 coal miners last year, fewer than half the 6,995 deaths in 2002, the most dangerous year on record, according to the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety. That means on average more than seven miners die every day, down from 19.1 in 2002.

The decline in deaths comes amid a ramping up in the mining of coal, which fuels about 70 percent of China's voracious energy needs.

Much of the safety improvement has come from shutting down smaller, labor-intensive operators or forcing them into mergers with better-funded state companies.

Lu Jianzhang, a former researcher with the China Coal Research Institute in Beijing, also said that he suspected old mine shafts were to blame. If that were the case, it could brighten the prospects of finding survivors, he said.

"Since the amount of the water is limited and runs out after the initial flood, there is still probably hope for miners' survival," Lu said.

Wangjialing's parent company, Huajin Coking Coal Co., is co-owned by China's second-largest coal mining company, the China National Coal Group Corp., with the remaining 50 percent stake owned by the Shanxi Coking Coal Group Co., another major miner.

The worst accidents in recent years include a coal mine flood in eastern Shandong province in August 2007 that left 172 miners dead and a mine blast in northeastern Liaoning province in February 2005 that killed 214 miners.

[John]

Leaks reported at China mine days before flood
AP




Rescuers work to save 153 trapped Chines miners Play Video AFP – Rescuers work to save 153 trapped Chines miners

* Flood traps workers in China mine Slideshow:Flood traps workers in China mine
* Flood traps miners in China Play Video Video:Flood traps miners in China Reuters
* National Forecast Play Video Weather Forecast Video:National Forecast weather.com

Race against clock to save China mine workers AFP – Coal miners wait for news of their colleagues at the entrance to a flooded mine shaft at the Wangjialing …
By GILLIAN WONG, Associated Press Writer Gillian Wong, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 21 mins ago

XIANGNING, China – Workers reported underground water leaks days before a flood coursed through a coal mine in northern China, where 153 people remained trapped Tuesday in potentially one of the country's worst mining disasters, a worker and state media said.

There has been no communication with the miners since the flood tore through the Wangjialing mine in Shanxi province Sunday afternoon. Some 1,000 workers are tunneling around the clock to drain away water but appear days away from making any rescue.

Officials have yet to declare the cause of the accident, but experts said it was likely that miners broke into the old shafts or pits of derelict mines that had filled with water.

The disaster is a setback to recent, significant improvements in the dire safety record of China's mining industry, the world's deadliest, claiming thousands of lives each year. Shanxi province is China's top coal-producing region.

Anxious relatives of those trapped — many of them migrants from other provinces — gathered at the site Tuesday and complained about what they said was the slow pace of the rescue work, saying they weren't seeing water being pumped out of the mine.

"We need to see some action to make us feel like they are doing all they can," said Long Liming, brother-in-law of one of the trapped miners. "They have the materials, the pipes are here, why aren't they getting to rescuing people?"

A Wangjialing miner said that workers had warned of water leaks in the underground shafts as early as last Thursday but were ignored.

"They told leaders, but nothing was done about it," said Yang Shengcai, 48, a miner from Hebei province. "They would call and say, 'There's water here,' but still nothing was done. I don't know why. This kind of thing is up to the leaders to handle."

The Beijing News reported Tuesday that the leaks were so bad that before the accident, workers had asked that pumps be brought in to clear some of the pooled water.

David Feickert, a coal mine safety adviser to the Chinese government, said hidden shafts are a common cause of mine floods. Shanxi would be particularly vulnerable, he said, because it "is an area where they have very extensive mining, a lot of old mines."

The Wangjialing accident could prove one of the most deadly mine accidents in China since a coal mine flood in eastern Shandong province in August 2007 killed 172 miners.

China's State Administration of Work Safety said 261 workers were inside the Wangjialing mine when it flooded, and 108 escaped or were rescued. The 153 workers who remained underground were believed to be trapped in nine different places in the mine, which was flooded with up to 5 million cubic feet (140,000 cubic meters) of water, state television said.

It was unclear if anyone was still alive in the shafts, some of which extended a half-mile (one kilometer) into the earth. China Central Television said there have been no signs of life or communication with people underground since the flood happened.

The broadcaster reported rescuers have drilled 65 feet (20 meters) of a planned 400-foot (120-meter) water diversion channel that they hope can clear waters away from the trapped workers. Work had yet to start on a second, 980-foot (300-meter) tunnel leading from the ground straight down to the affected shafts because engineers were uncertain where to start the drilling, the report said.

Authorities were also worried that gases from the abandoned shafts may have flowed into the mine, bringing new dangers such as explosions or poisoning.

"The top priority now is to speed up pumping the water and achieve the goal of saving people," Luo Lin, the director of the State Administration of Work Safety, told China Central Television. "In addition, the drilling needs to be done faster too."

Zhao Chuan, a rescue worker, said intermittent electricity cuts were hampering their efforts.

Liu Dezheng, a chief engineer with the work safety bureau in Shanxi, said rescuers were rotating on four-hour shifts and must be prepared to work for "at least seven days and seven nights."

Dozens of miners' relatives, including women carrying small children, gathered near the mine office, demanding rescuers do more. A few amid the crowd of about 60 people shouted at police who were trying to keep them from rushing into the office, though the scene was generally peaceful.

Tang Yinfeng, a migrant worker from the southern province of Hunan, said two of her younger brothers were trapped underground. "I want to bring oxygen tanks down," said Tang, 49. "I want to save them myself."

While deadly accidents are commonplace in China's mines, its safety record has improved as authorities have shut down smaller, labor-intensive operators or forced them into mergers with better-funded state companies.

Accidents killed 2,631 coal miners in 2009, down from 6,995 deaths in 2002, the most dangerous year on record, according to the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety. That means on average more than seven miners die daily, down from 19 in 2002.

[John]

China safety body says rules ignored in mine flood
AP




Relatives of mine worker weeps at the Wangjialing coal mine in Xiangning township, Shanxi province, about 650 kilometers (400 miles) southwest of Bei AP – Relatives of mine worker weeps at the Wangjialing coal mine in Xiangning township, Shanxi province, …

* Flood traps workers in China mine Slideshow:Flood traps workers in China mine
* National Forecast Play Video Weather Forecast Video:National Forecast weather.com

By GILLIAN WONG, Associated Press Writer Gillian Wong, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 54 mins ago

XIANGNING, China – Mine officials ignored safety rules and danger warnings in their haste to open a coal mine in northern China, leading to a flood that has trapped 153 workers since the weekend, a government safety body said Wednesday.

Officials say there have been no signs of life at the Wangjialing mine in Shanxi province since 108 miners escaped or were rescued following the flooding Sunday. Desperate relatives have traveled from afar to the site to demand that efforts to save the missing miners be speeded up.

About 1,000 rescuers have been working around the clock at the mine in southern Shanxi province, tunneling and laying pipes to drain away water, but hopes are fading.

The flood was triggered after workers who were tunneling broke through into an old shaft filled with water, the State Administration of Work Safety said in a notice posted on its Web site.

It also said the shaft became overcrowded as extra tunneling crews were assigned in a rush to finish the work, and that warning signs went unheeded.

"Water leaks were found numerous times on underground shafts," it said, but the mine's managers "did not follow the safety instructions or guidelines when the leaks were reported and did not take the actions necessary to evacuate people."

The preliminary findings confirm what some miners and state media have said in the days following the flood. The official China Daily reported Wednesday that managers of the company in charge of construction have gone missing. It said they were the ones who ignored alarms about water leaks.

It could prove to be the deadliest mine accident in China since a coal mine flood in eastern Shandong province in August 2007 killed 172 miners. The latest disaster is a setback to recent, significant improvements in Chinese mines, which have a dire safety record. They are the world's deadliest, claiming thousands of lives each year.

A Wangjialing miner said workers were angered because officials did not respond to their demands for answers.

"The victims stuck underground may not be my family but they are like my brothers. Our hearts are filled with anger," said 40-year-old Zhong Nanxiang, who has been a miner for 20 years. "But who can we turn to for an answer? The leaders won't talk to us. We are from the lowest level of society. We are the weak ones. You call this the People's Republic of China?"

Dozens of family members have turned up at the mine demanding explanations and quicker action in heated confrontations with officials. By Wednesday, most of the relatives had been moved off the site to a nearby town and security was beefed up. The main, winding mountain road leading to the mine was sealed off by police, who allowed only authorized vehicles to pass.

At the site, dozens of police officers, many carrying batons, stood guard around workers' dormitories, preventing the remaining two dozen or so family members from getting close to the mine shaft.

"They've been standing here all night," said Wang Wenkui, 24, a miner who lives at the dormitory. "It's because of the family members who were here yesterday. They don't want them to cause trouble."

Cao Yuying, 30, from Henan province, said he was waiting for news about his 45-year-old uncle who is stuck below, but was getting impatient.

"They are not working fast enough. I believe they are not actually interested in rescue work. They are just trying to resume production," said Cao, who added police and government officials had tried to keep him in a hotel in a nearby city, but he had made it out to the mine at night.

"I will wait here until they rescue people," he said.

Rescue efforts continued with large cranes lifting heavy metal pipes off trucks and onto the ground where workers measured and cut them. Officials in green military-style coats and red safety helmets huddled together in discussions around the entrance to a shaft, pointing to sheets of papers in their hands. Workers bent over to check levels of large oxygen tanks meant for ensuring sufficient air supply to rescuers underground.

The work safety agency said 261 workers were inside the Wangjialing mine when it flooded Sunday, and 108 escaped or were rescued. The 153 workers who remained underground were believed to be trapped in nine different places in the mine, which was flooded with up to 5 million cubic feet (140,000 cubic meters) of water, state television said.

In an indication of the slow progress, the official Xinhua News Agency reported that as of Tuesday night, pumping had dropped the water level in the flooded shaft by just 15 centimeters (about six inches).

The mine, which was not yet in operation when the accident happened, covers about 70 square miles (180 square kilometers). Xinhua said it was expected to produce 6 million tons of coal annually once it opened later this year.

Accidents killed 2,631 coal miners in China last year, down from 6,995 deaths in 2002, the most dangerous year on record, according to the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety. That is an average of more than seven miners a day in 2009, down from 19 in 2002.

[John]

Sounds heard in China mine where 153 trapped
AP




Chinese miners trapped for 3rd day Play Video Reuters – Chinese miners trapped for 3rd day

* Flood traps workers in China mine Slideshow:Flood traps workers in China mine
* Rescuers work to save 153 trapped Chines miners Play Video Video:Rescuers work to save 153 trapped Chines miners AFP
* Flood traps miners in China Play Video Video:Flood traps miners in China Reuters

In this Thursday, April 1, 2010 photo, rescue workers enter the coal mine after an explosion at the Guomin Coal Mine in Yichuan county, in central Chi AP – In this Thursday, April 1, 2010 photo, rescue workers enter the coal mine after an explosion at the Guomin …
By CARA ANNA, Associated Press Writer Cara Anna, Associated Press Writer – 31 mins ago

BEIJING – Rescuers cheered Friday after hearing faint signs of life — tapping noises, and possibly shouting — from inside a flooded Chinese coal mine where 153 workers have been trapped for more than five days.

Footage on state-run China Central Television showed rescuers tapping on pipes with a wrench, then cheering and jumping after hearing a response. They lowered pens and paper, along with glucose and milk, down metal pipes to the spot where the tapping was heard.

About 3,000 rescuers were working nonstop to pump water out of the Wangjialing mine, which government officials say flooded Sunday afternoon when workers digging tunnels broke into an old shaft filled with water. But experts said it could still take days to reach the miners — and their survival depended on whether they had decent air to breathe and clean water to drink.

"They're doing probably the only thing they can do, which is to pump water as fast as they possibly can," said David Feickert, a coal mine safety adviser to the Chinese government. He said some mines have rescuers trained as divers for cases like this. "But from the sound of it, there's too much water in this mine and they're not sure where people are."

The flood was one of three coal mine accidents in China this week. A gas explosion Wednesday in the central province of Henan killed 19 and left 24 trapped, and nine people died Thursday in northwestern Shaanxi province.

Wen Changjin, an official with the news center set up at the site, said rescuers tapping on the pipes began to hear responses from about 820 feet (250 meters) below ground at about 2 p.m.

Rescuer Zhao Chuan told The Associated Press that another rescue team had reported hearing people shouting underground. Wen said officials at the news center had not heard reports of shouting.

Zhao was quoted by state-run China Central Television as saying that an iron wire was found tied to a drill rod and rescuers think it may have been attached by one of the trapped miners. Images of the iron wire showed it had been shaped into a circle, with its ends twisted together.

The signs of possible life gave hope to the miners' relatives.

"I'm so happy to hear the news, and I think everybody is," Tang Yinfeng, whose brother-in-law is trapped, said by phone Friday night from near the mine in the northern province of Shanxi. "The rescue work is much faster than before. We're grateful for their effort." Earlier, relatives had complained the work was going too slowly.

The 153 workers were believed to be trapped on nine different platforms in the mine, which was flooded with up to 37 million gallons (140,000 cubic meters) of water, the equivalent of more than 55 Olympic swimming pools, state television has reported.

Rescuers said four of the platforms were not totally submerged, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported, adding that the water level underground had dropped by 8.5 feet (2.6 meters) as of noon Friday.

The miners' survival depends on several factors, including how cold and wet they are and how much air is available, said David Creedy, a former mine consultant who now works in China for Sindicatum Carbon Capital.

"Certainly for the current time, a week or so, there's a good chance" of survival, he said.

A preliminary investigation found that the mine's managers ignored water leaks from the abandoned mine before the accident, the State Administration of Work Safety said.

"Water leaks were found numerous times in underground shafts," but the mine's managers "did not take the actions necessary to evacuate people," it said. The managers also caused overcrowding by assigning extra tunneling crews in a rush to finish work, the agency added.

It could prove to be the deadliest mine accident in China since a coal mine flood in the eastern province of Shandong in August 2007 killed 172 miners.

China's coal mines are the world's deadliest, despite government efforts to reduce fatalities. Most accidents are blamed on failure to follow safety rules or lack of required ventilation, fire controls and equipment.

Accidents killed 2,631 coal miners in China last year, down from 6,995 deaths in 2002, the most dangerous year on record, according to the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety.

Families of the trapped miners waited Friday with a mix of optimism and nerves.

"I saw the news on CCTV and hope he is still alive," said Long Limin, whose brother-in-law is underground. "But my heart is still heavy because finding a sign of life doesn't mean that he is still alive. The more time passes, the less chance they are alive."

[John]

Here's a good film clip of mining conditions in China. Pretty scary!

[dazbt]

Apr 3, 2010 15:04:29 GMT -5 John said:

Here's a good film clip of mining conditions in China. Pretty scary!

"Scary"?
What bits were scary John?

[John]

The poor safety, lack of dust masks in such high levels of dust. High accident rate. lack of compensation, etc.

[dazbt]

Nine brought out alive;

www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1047890/1/.html

[John]

Well that's better than nowt Daz, lets keep our fingers crossed they locate more live men!!

[dazbt]

Apr 4, 2010 14:10:46 GMT -5 John said:

Well that's better than nowt Daz, lets keep our fingers crossed they locate more live men!!

More than fingers crossed J, hope against hope really, but whilst ever there's a chance ...... good luck to them all.

[dazbt]

Better news, some mixed reports now of survivor numbers being announced but at least 29 miners rescued, (some reports state 35 brought to surface) whilst up to 95 miners have been identified as still alive and with the chance of rescue.

[dazbt]

114 rescued, search goes on for 39 others.

[John]

Apr 5, 2010 2:59:31 GMT -5 dazbt said:

114 rescued, search goes on for 39 others.

Looking better by the day!!

[linbylad]

Linby Lad back on line after a long lay-off. The news is just in. An explosion occured at 4:30 EST at a Massey Energy Mine In West Virgnia (Big Branch). Seven believed dead, twenty injured and about twenty missing. Rescue has started. You may want to start a new thread about this John, I'm to dumb.

Linby Lad.

[linbylad]

Bad news lads. Twenty five miners have been confirmed dead at the Big Branch Mine. Four are still missing. This was reported at 6am EST by CNN (google CNN for info).

According to TV report seven miners were found dead on a mantrip and rescue workers found SCSRs had been taken from shelters. This would indicate that they were overcome by CO. I am surprised by this because all travel roads in mines I have been in the USA have been in the inbye air.

I was a service rep. for Anderson Mavor in that area from 1979 to 1983 and worked at mines in Boone and Logan counties which are next to Raleigh County where this mine is located. I know this area very well. It was the centre of the mine wars in the early 1920s (google Battle of Blair Mountain).

Latest news 6:30 AM EST: The four remaining missing miners have been found dead.

My thoughts are with the dead miner's families and friends at this moment. RIP.

Linby Lad.