Eight dead, 6 trapped in China colliery accidents

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-11-10 17:33

YINCHUAN: Two colliery accidents Tuesday left at least eight miners dead, 11 injured and another six trapped in China, local authorities said.

Eight workers were killed after a coal mine gas explosion in Shizuishan City, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region early Tuesday, said Huang Minkang, deputy director of Ningxia Coal Mine Safety Bureau.

The blast occurred at 6:53 am Tuesday when 19 miners were working in the Shabatai coal mine, Huang said.

Another 11 people were being treated in hospital after being rescued from the pit, but their conditions were unknown, Huang said.

Separately, six miners were trapped in the shaft after an outburst of coal and gas at around 11 a.m. Tuesday at Majiagou coal mine in Tangshan City, north China's Hebei Province, said an official from the city's work safety administration.

Rescuers were still searching for the six. An unspecified number of other miners working underground at the time managed to escape, said the official.

Work safety officials are investigating the accidents.

China saw 1,954 coal mine accidents last year which killed 3,215 people. Nearly 1,900 people died in colliery accidents in the first nine months this year, down 23.8 percent against the same period last year, the State Administration of Work Safety has said.