Lime kiln owner arrested after accident kills 7
(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-01-02 07:33

Seven people died in a cave-in at an unlicensed lime kiln in Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Saturday, Xinhua reported yesterday.

Six other workers were injured in the accident, which happened at 4:30 pm in Guiping's Mengyu Town. Three of them are still being treated at hospital.

The kiln in the city of Guiping did not have a safety licence for production, and its owner was detained by local police, Xinhua said.

In a related development, five miners were killed and one rescued in an asbestos mine blast Saturday evening in Zhalute Banner in North China's Inner Mongolia.

Meanwhile, rescuers recovered two bodies from Thursday's gold mine flooding in the city of Penglai, East China's Shandong Province, on Saturday. Three miners are still missing, the local government said.

Eight miners working in the No 8 shaft of the Hexi Gold Mine in Penglai were trapped when the site flooded at about 7 am Thursday morning.

Three miners were rescued 24 hours later and rescuers are still searching for the three missing workers, the provincial work safety administration said on Saturday.

Investigators said they believe the accident may have been caused by miners digging through a neighbouring flooded waste mine.

In Zuoyun County, Shaanxi Province in Northwest China, the death toll from a coal mine flood on Wednesday has risen to 13, as five more bodies were found, rescuers said yesterday morning. Four others remained trapped underground.

The accident rappered at about 8 pm on Wednesday morning when 22 miners were working at the Fanjiasi Coal Mine. Five of them managed to escape.

Dozens of rescuers worked in shifts to go underground to search for the trapped miners, and eight of the workers were confirmed dead on Saturday.

A preliminary probe into the accident showed that it was caused by workers maintaining the pit. Its owner has been detained by local police.

(China Daily 01/02/2006 page2)