China: Death toll rises to 8 in coal mine accident
The death toll from a coal mine accident in eastern China rose to 8 as the bodies of five more miners were retrieved, local authorities said on Friday. The accident happened on Saturday after a rock burst ripped through a coal mine of the Longyun Coal Mining Company Ltd in Yuncheng county of Shangdong province, leaving two dead and 22 trapped in the tunnel.
13 miners are still trapped inside: State-run media
Two bodies were retrieved underground early Thursday morning and three others were found in the afternoon, the rescue headquarters said. Only one person has been rescued. Thirteen miners are still trapped and rescuers are racing against the clock to locate them from two rescue passages, state-run media reported. Rock bursts are often caused by fractures in rocks due to wear and tear from mining.
Details of mining accidents that happened in China this year
Mining accidents are common in China. However, the number of deaths have reduced in recent years. In June this year, a powerful explosion in an iron mine in China's northeast Liaoning province claimed the lives of 11 and left nine others injured. Similarly, in May, a methane gas explosion ripped through a coal mine in central China's Hunan province, killing at least five workers.
