China
        

Photos

Hope fades for trapped miners in central China

Updated: 2010-12-02 08:14

(Xinhua)

Twitter Facebook Myspace Yahoo! Linkedin Mixx

Hope fades for trapped miners in central China
Rescuers transport pipes on Wednesday for pumping out water from a flooded coal mine in Xiangtan county of Hunan province. [Photo/China News Service]

 

Hope fades for trapped miners in central China

People gather near a flooded coal mine where seven miners were trapped underground in Xiangtan county of Hunan province, Dec 1, 2010. [Photo/Xinhua]

 

Experts and rescuers said Wednesday there was little hope of finding seven miners trapped underground alive after a coal mine was flooded nearly one day earlier in Hunan Province.

The flood happened at 11:38 p.m. Tuesday in a pit at the Yide Coal Mine in Xiangtan County, trapping seven miners at a depth of 89 meters, said Zhao Jun, one of the experts involved in the rescue operation.

The miners were believed to be stranded in a tiny area and it is possible they have drowned, said Zhao, who is also the chief engineer of Hunan's Coal Industry Bureau.

In addition, the oxygen density was tested to be 8 percent at a depth of 83 meters in the flooded pit, indicating less oxygen at the level where the miners were trapped, which increases the possibility of suffocation, rescuers said.

However, rescuers are still trying to install more pumps to drain the water. A spokesman with the emergency rescue headquarters said Yide, a small mine that had doubled its annual output to 60,000 tonnes after recently merging with a neighboring mine, had been warned due to safety concerns, both orally and in writing, over the past four weeks.

Senior executives and major shareholders of the mine are now in police custody.

E-paper

Ear We Go

China and the world set to embrace the merciful, peaceful year of rabbit

Preview of the coming issue
Carrefour finds the going tough in China
Maid to Order

European Edition

Specials

Mysteries written in blood

Historical records and Caucasian features of locals suggest link with Roman Empire.

Winning Charm

Coastal Yantai banks on little things that matter to grow

New rules to hit property market

The State Council launched a new round of measures to rein in property prices.

Top 10 of 2010
China Daily in Europe
The Confucius connection