Chinese mine blast death toll rises

The death toll in a coal mine accident in north east China rose to 138 with 11 others still missing today as anxious relatives demanded to be allowed into the mine.

The blast in the Dongfeng Coal Mine prompted national leaders to demand stricter enforcement of safety rules in China’s mining industry, by far the world’s deadliest, with more than 5,000 fatalities a year in fires, floods and other accidents.

The disaster late on Sunday in Qitaihe came as the nearby city of Harbin was struggling to recover from a toxic spill in a river that forced the government to cut off water supplies for five days.

Outside the mine, security guards blocked the front gate as about a dozen people stood outside in freezing weather and fog. Four women argued loudly with the guards, demanding to be let in to look for missing relatives.

The disaster is a setback for Chinese officials struggling to improve safety in the coal mining industry. Most accidents are blamed on disregard of safety rules or lack of equipment for ventilation or fire control.

The government said the explosion in Qitaihe was blamed on airborne coal dust that ignited. But there was no word on whether it was believed to involve misconduct or human error.

The official Xinhua News Agency said 138 miners died in the explosion and hundreds of rescuers were searching for 11 others, but gave no indication whether they were believed to be alive.

Provincial Governor Zhang Zuoji visited survivors in the hospital. Most wore oxygen masks and many lay in bed still in their work clothes, their faces caked with black grime.

Zhang rushed to Qitaihe from Harbin, about 250 miles to the west, where he had just taken part in festivities marking the restoration of running water which had been suspended after a spill of toxic benzene in the Songhua River.

The double disasters embarrassed the government of President Hu Jintao, which has promised to improve the lives of the poor majority who have been left behind by China’s 25-year-old economic boom.

Following the blast, Hu and Premier Wen Jiabao urged officials to curb the “possible occurrence of big safety accidents which claim huge casualties”.

They demanded stricter inspections and punishments for violators.