50 gold miners trapped after fire

A FIRE at a gold mine in eastern China trapped at least 50 people underground, though 200 miners have been lifted to safety, state news agency Xinhua said yesterday.

The fire broke out late in the afternoon at the mine near Yantai city in Shandong province.

It was not clear if there were any casualties, Xinhua added, citing a government spokesman, and gave no further details.

China is frequently hit by mine disasters, mostly in coal mines, which kill hundreds of people every year.

The government has tried to improve safety but efforts have been hampered by widespread ignoring of rules in the rush to extract natural resources to feed China’s booming economy.

Meanwhile, authorities have confirmed that 32 people were killed in two coal-mining accidents in China earlier in the week, state media said yesterday.

In the central province of Henan, rescuers have recovered 16 bodies from a colliery in Dengfeng city following a lethal gas leak, Xinhua reported, citing a spokesman for the local work safety administration.

The leak occurred late on Monday at the Sanyuandong coal mine and 127 miners were in the pit at the time, but 111 of them were quickly brought to safety.

In Guizhou province, 16 other miners were killed in a similar gas outburst on Tuesday at the Mingyang coal mine in Renhuai.