China: A coal mine tragedy in Shanxi province claimed the lives of seven trapped workers

Beijing: Local officials on Friday confirmed the deaths of at least seven miners who had been stuck in a coal mine’s underground storage in Shanxi Province, north China, since Monday. When miners were fixing a coal feeder on Monday around midnight, the coal pile in the warehouse toppled.

According to Gao Naichun, the warehouse collapsed earlier this week, burying seven individuals. According to the county administration, the rescue operation at the coal mine of the Taoyuan Xinlong coal industry business in Zhongyang County came to a close on Friday morning with the retrieval of the last corpse.

According to Gao, the collapsing coal caused water outbursts and cracked water pipes under the warehouse, hindering rescue attempts. The state-run media has reported that further research is being done.

Because coal miners often work under inadequate security, coal mine accidents are widespread in China, a country with a high year-round energy demand. As a result, many miners lose their lives in these incidents.

According to local officials, a coal mine accident in Henan Province, central China, in January resulted in the deaths of at least 10 workers. The incident occurred at a coal mine owned by Pingdingshan Tianan Coal Mining Co., Ltd. and was likely an explosion of coal and gas characterised as an “outburst.”

Authorities in northern China said that an explosion at a coal mine in October of last year claimed the lives of at least 11 individuals. The explosion happened in the hilly Shaanxi province, outside the ancient city of Yan’an, where mining has long been a major contributor to the local economy.

The rise in fatal construction accidents in China recently may be attributed to a combination of corporate profit-seeking, inadequate safety regulations and training, and government corruption. The Ministry of Emergency Management revealed that, in 2022, when most of China’s economy was shut down under its “zero COVID” policy, the total number of industrial accidents reduced by 27%. This was despite the high-profile occurrences. According to the government, there was a 23.6% decrease in the mortality toll.