Continue reading »]]> Chinese rescue workers searched for dozens of people believed to be trapped by a massive landslide in the southwest city of Chongqing on Saturday, a state-run news agency reported.

Rescuers said about 80 people were buried in debris from the landslide and have almost no chance of survival, Xinhua reported. But rescuers hope to save 27 miners trapped under a mine in the area, the agency reported.

Rescuers pulled out seven injured people on Friday, including four who were seriously hurt.

The accident happened about 3 p.m. Friday at an iron ore mining area in Jiwei Mountain.

A government spokesman said the landslide destroyed 12 rural houses and buried a mining area.

The landslide cut off power and communications in many parts of the town, but 500 rescuers were still searching the area, Xinhua reported.

Massive landslide buries dozens in China

Continue reading »]]> Thirty-two of 34 workers trapped in the flooding of a central China mine have been rescued, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported Tuesday.

One worker died, and the last was missing, Xinhua said. The rescued workers were rushed to a hospital and were in “poor” condition, according to the news agency.

The mine in Pingdingshan, a city in Henan province, flooded Monday, according to China’s State Administration of Work Safety. Forty-two miners were working in the mine at the time; eight escaped, according to Xinhua.

Wang Dexue, head of the Administration of Work Safety, told Xinhua the mine, known as the Gaomendong Coal Mine, was operating illegally. Its owner, Lou Gaofeng, was detained. Wang said Lou failed to report that miners found water seeping into the mine before the flood, and also waited two hours after the flood occurred to report it, according to Xinhua.

More than 800 people participated in rescue operations at the mine, located in Jiaxian County, Xinhua said.

China has suffered a string of deadly mining disasters in recent years despite a nationwide safety

CNN.com

Continue reading »]]> BEIJING, China (AP) — Chinese state media say at least 36 people have been killed in two mine accidents.

The official Xinhua News Agency said Sunday that 31 people were killed and nine others were missing after a gas explosion in a private mine near Dengfeng city in Henan province in central China.

It said five miners were killed and 26 were still missing after a coal mine fire in Heilongjiang province in northeast China.