CHINA - Coal Mine Blast Kills 40, Three Missing

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WIRE:04/22/2000 01:15:00 ET

Title: China Coal Mine Blast Kills 40, Three Missing BEIJING (Reuters) - A gas explosion at a coal pit in north China killed 40 miners and three were still missing, the official Legal Daily newspaper reported Saturday. The blast, the latest this year for China's deadly mining industry, occurred in the northern province of Shanxi last Saturday, trapping 44 miners in the Yongcai coal mine, the newspaper said.

It also said rescuers saved a miner and recovered 40 bodies earlier this week, and were still attempting to locate the missing three.

Chinese authorities are investigating the cause of the accident, the newspaper said.

China's coal mines have a disastrous safety record and thousands of miners die in accidents every year.

In the first nine months of 1999, 3,464 coal miners died in accidents. In 1998, the death toll from underground explosions and mine collapses was 2,028.

In the first three weeks of this year alone, mining accidents claimed more than 70 lives.

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/reuters20000422_26.html

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-- (Dee360Degree@aol.com), April 22, 2000

Answers

There have been more coal mine explosions lately. Not in this country, but in other parts of the world.

Anybody else pick up on this yet?

-- Uncle Fred (dogboy45@bigfoot.com), April 22, 2000.


Actually, coal production in the U.S. is running only 2.5% behind last year. So, apparently, there hasn't been too much trouble with our coal production--yet.

-- JackW (jpayne@webtv.net), April 23, 2000.

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