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The accident at the Fengyuan coal mine in Hutubi county happened about 6.10pm on Saturday. Photo: Xinhua

Xinjiang: 21 coal miners trapped underground as flooding cuts power

  • Accident happened about 6.10pm on Saturday as 29 people were carrying out upgrading works at the Fengyuan coal mine in Hutubi county, reports say
  • Eight people were rescued and the remaining miners have been located, but complex terrain is hampering efforts to reach them, CCTV says
Rescuers were working on Sunday to reach 21 workers trapped in a coal mine in west China’s Xinjiang region after flooding cut power underground and disrupted communications, state media reported.

The accident happened at the Fengyuan coal mine in Hutubi county about 6.10pm on Saturday, when staff were carrying out upgrading works at the site, Xinhua said.

 

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21 Xinjiang coal miners trapped underground after flooding cuts power, communications

21 Xinjiang coal miners trapped underground after flooding cuts power, communications

Eight of the 29 workers who were at the scene have been rescued from the mine, according to preliminary reports.

Eight of the 29 workers who were at the scene have been rescued from the mine, according to preliminary reports. Photo: Xinhua

Rescuers have located the miners, with 12 on one platform, eight on a second and the last worker in an escape route where water had entered, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

“The working platform with 12 people is 1,200 metres (3,900 feet) from ground level and the underground terrain is complex, making rescue difficult,” it said.

Rescuers were also trying to pump water from the flooded shaft and have been piping air into the mine. Pumping equipment was being installed.

Mining accidents are common in China, where the industry has a poor safety record and regulations are often weakly enforced.

In January, 22 workers were trapped in a gold mine in east China’s Shandong province after an explosion damaged the entrance, leaving workers stuck underground for about two weeks. Eleven men were pulled out alive, 10 died and one miner remained unaccounted for.

In December, 23 miners died after being trapped underground in the southwest city of Chongqing, just months after 16 others died from carbon monoxide poisoning at another coal mine in the city.

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