Smoking Cited in Blast That Killed 72 Miners
From Times Wire Reports
Workers smoking cigarettes in a gas-filled pit sparked a massive underground blast that killed 72 coal miners in the city of Xiaoyi last month, the Communist Party’s People’s Daily newspaper said.
Open cigarette packs were found on the bodies of two miners at the Mengnanzhuang mine, which has rules prohibiting items capable of starting a fire, the paper said. A short circuit had disabled the mine’s ventilation system, causing a buildup of coal gas, the paper said.
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