Flooding traps 69 Chinese miners

Heavy rain lashing parts of China is hampering efforts to rescue 69 miners trapped in a flooded colliery, state media reported today.

Storms have triggered landslides on the mountain road leading to the pit in the central province of Henan and two trucks carrying relief supplies were stranded on the road for several hours, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Rescuers are attempting to pump water out of the Zhijian mine and ambulances and medical services are standing by to help with casualties.

Heavy rain flooded into a pit shaft yesterday morning, trapping the miners underground.

The condition of those caught inside is unknown, the report said.

Rescuers have been told to drill holes from the surface to the shaft where the miners are trapped to supply them with more oxygen.

The government estimates that nearly 700 people have died in floods, landslides and other accidents caused by the torrential rains which have hit parts of China in recent weeks.

The rains are reported to have destroyed about 452,000 homes and nearly 8 million hectares of crops, Xinhua said.

The China Meteorological Administration’s chief weather forecaster, Wang Yongguang, said the extreme weather conditions were due to global warming, the China Daily reported.

Wang said no typhoons had hit China so far this year. “That’s a clear sign of abnormal weather,” he added.

More than 4,700 people died in mining accidents in China last year, making the country’s mine safety record the worst in the world.