Shanxi: at least 50 untrained rescuers among the dead in coal-mine

According Chinese state media, at least 105 of the victims from the disaster in the coal-mine Rui Zhiyuan were members of the untrained rescue team. One survivor confirmed: they had oxygen masks but did not know how to use them.

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agenzie) – Half of the 105 victims of the coal-mine Rui Zhiyuan, near the city of Linfen (Shanxi, Central China), where members of the untrained rescue team, reported the Chinese state media.

The accident in the Hongton County took place on December 5th: at least 50 un-prepared people were sent underground by the mine’s managers. Their goal was to retrieve the miners that were trapped underground. Yang Tianming, one of the miners, explained: “Many of the people were sent down there without reason: they sacrificed their own lives for nothing”. Mao Caoling, one of his colleagues, added: “We have never been trained for such operations. We don’t know what to do and not to do, in such situations. We had oxygen masks, but nobody knew how to use them: many suffocated”.

China Central Television announced that “the search and rescue operations have been terminated. Local managers are investigating exactly what happened and who is responsible for the disaster. Those that remained underground are dead”.

Until now, the police have detained 33 people: 5 have been arrested. The government media are pointing fingers at the mine’s management, state-owned: they were mining in an unauthorised area. The government has said it will be compensating the families of the victims, but the exact amount has not been declared.

China’s mines are the most dangerous in the world. In order to respond to the increasing demand for energy in the country - 70% of which are based on coal –mine owners push mining to its limits disregarding safety rules.

In early November the government released data on mining deaths. In the last 10 months there have been 3,069 victims, 19% less than the same time last year. The statistics are not very credible because many deaths are not reported in order to avoid a mine from shutting down, as stated by the law. According to independent statistics, the real number of deaths is around 20,000 each year.

In the last two years the government has approved new mining safety regulations, but enforcement of these remains lax. Those at fault usually are not persecuted: in 2006, 95% of party officials involved in mining accidents brought to trial were eventually acquitted.

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Shanxi: at least 50 untrained rescuers among the dead in coal-mine

Shanxi: at least 50 untrained rescuers among the dead in coal-mine

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