Rescuers revise up death toll from S China coal mine flood

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-07-23 21:45

BAISE - Rescuers have recovered the bodies of seven of the 36 trapped miners at the flooded Nadu Mine in southern China, not six as they reported on Tuesday.

Huang Yi, spokesman for the State Administration of Work Safety, said the chaos of the rescue operation had led to the miscount.

The operation had reached a critical period, said Huang, as heavy rain was forecast around Baise, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, where the mine is located, over the next two days.

Rain started in Tiandong County on Tuesday night but has not affected the rescue operation, said an official at the rescue headquarters on Wednesday.

According to the forecast, the county was expected to receive up to 30 millimeters of rain, although it had only received 1 mm as of Wednesday afternoon.

A hydrological team has stepped up efforts to monitor the underground water levels within 500 meters of the workface, called 4301, where the miners were most probably trapped.

Huang said the flooding in the mine actually started at 1:15 p.m. on Monday, rather than 3:15 p.m. as reported previously, trapping 57 miners.

Twenty-one miners escaped or were rescued, but 29 remain trapped near the workface 4301.

A rescue headquarters has been set up at the site, with Zhao Tiechui, head of the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety in charge and Yang Daoxi, vice chairman of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, as deputy.

Zhao emphasized the importance of preventing secondary disasters such as gas explosions.

The rescuers have tried to accelerate the pumping of water from the mine shaft and increase ventilation and dredge mud washed into the mine shaft to prevent it blocking tunnels.

Hydrological experts have been examining whether the source of the flooded water was connected to the Youjiang River, an important waterway in south China.

The headquarters has also set up 36 teams to deal with the aftermath. Each of them is responsible for the family of a victim or trapped miner. The teams are carrying out DNA tests to confirm the victims' identities.

The mine has estimated reserves of 2.98 million tonnes of coal and can produce 190,000 tonnes annually. It is owned by the Youjiang Mining Bureau in Baise, which began mining in 2003. It is fully certified.