19 mineworkers were killed and twenty-eight are missing in China after a gas explosion in a coal shaft, the Xinhua news agency told on Thursday, noticing one of the greatest tragedies of the year in the accident-plagued industry.
Rescue squads from other mines had been sent to the Xiaojiawan Coal Mine in Sichuan province where 107 miners had been saved after Wednesday’s attack, it reported.
China’s mines are the deathliest in the world because of flaccid enforcement of safety criteria and a rush to feed demand from a robust economy. But the death toll from accidents has been falling, government statistics show.
The government work safety watchdog told that 1,973 miners were killed in coal mine accidents last year, in accordance with state media. In 2010, 2,433 people were shot down, down from a toll of 2,631 the previous year.
Xinhua said the Xiaojiawan mine was owned by Zhengjin Industry and Trade Co., Ltd. Police were questioning the owner.
