Beijing, Jan 07: As many as 11 miners are feared dead
after an explosion in an illegally run Chinese coal mine that
authorities didn't find out about for more than a week, a
local official said today.
The blast blamed on natural gas ripped through the mine
in baiyin, a city in the northwestern province of Gansu, on
December 22, according to the official, reached by telephone.
The manager fled without reporting the disaster and
authorities didn't learn of it until last Thursday, 11 days
later, said the official, who would give only his surname,
Wang.
Rescue crews have been looking looked for 11 miners
thought to be inside.
But trapped gas is slowing the search and they have
found neither survivors nor bodies, Wang said. He said police
are looking for the manager.
China's coal mines are the world's most dangerous, with
more than 4,000 deaths reported last year in fires, cave-ins
and floods.
Bureau Report
