51 Killed, 41 Missing in China Coal Mine Blast

Rescue workers have pulled 51 bodies from an illegally operated coal mine in the southeastern province of Jiangsu and an additional 41 people are feared dead after a blast ripped through the pit, a local official said today.

The official in Xuzhou, 190 miles north of the provincial capital, Nanjing, said there was little hope for the 41 miners still missing after Sunday’s blast, which was caused by a gas buildup.

Doctors said today that 13 injured miners who were rescued were in stable condition.

Casualties could have been even higher. Some miners whose names appeared on the duty roster did not show up for work, said the official in charge of rescue operations, who declined to be identified.

“There is little hope of survival for those still trapped underground,” he said.

Nevertheless, the official New China News Agency said that Premier Zhu Rongji had ordered “an all-out effort” to save the trapped miners.

China’s coal industry, the world’s biggest, has an appalling safety record. Last year, 5,300 deaths were reported in mining accidents. Already this year, there have been almost 3,000 deaths reported.

The blast ripped through the mine while the miners were working in a shaft 850 feet below the surface.

The news agency said that the mine was operating without a license and was ordered to halt production last month as part of a national crackdown on illegally run mines but that it reopened earlier this month.

The mine’s contractor has been detained, the news agency said.

It quoted Zhu and other top leaders as saying illegal mines are “like time bombs and must be resolutely shut down to safeguard the security of people’s lives.”