Three dead, 13 missing in new mine accidents
Between 15 and 17 May, three mines in China either collapsed or exploded. The last remaining miner trapped in Anhui has been saved: he was located on Monday but was extracted only today, after two days.
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) The Chinese government today confirmed that a rescue team, sent to Dalongshan iron mine in Anhui on the night of 16 May, managed to extract the fifth and last miner trapped in debris.
Meanwhile, according to Xinhua, an explosion in a coal mine in northern China and the collapse of a gold mine on the outskirts of Beijing have trapped 13 people underground.
Zheng Yujie, the miner who was saved today, was located on Monday, 15 May, covered by rubble in the mine, but it proved impossible to extract him until today because his legs were trapped.
The rescuers fed him throughout the rescue operation with saline solutions and milk: the miner, who was immediately admitted in hospital, had a broken rib and serious kidney damage. At the time of the collapse, eight people were working in the mine 130 metres underground: five were saved, but three died on the spot.
Another incident took place on 16 May in the Quiqing coal mine in the northern province of Guizhou: a blast provoked by accumulation of gas provoked the collapse of the mine shaft where nine people were working. They are currently missing.
Meanwhile, it is unclear when a gold mine near Beijing collapsed. According to the rescue team, the collapse of the mine in Pinggu district, closed in 2004, may have taken place between 15 and 16 May. There were four people working illegally inside, and as yet there is no news of them.
The latest news reveals that there has been no let-up in the tragedy of miners in China. Miners continue to die to respond to the ever growing demand for raw materials to fuel for the country's rampant economic growth. Each year, despite repeated government measures, more than 5,000 deaths that occur underground are recorded per year, although unofficial estimates put the death toll much higher.
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