Last victim found in C China coalmine flood

JIAXIAN, Henan, Nov. 18 (Chinese media) -- Rescuers found

the body of the last missing miner from a flooded coalmine accident in central

China's Henan Province on Tuesday afternoon.

Rescue vehicle park at the site of the

flooded coal mine in Jiaxian County, Pingdingshan City of central China's

Henan Province, on Nov. 17, 2008. (Chinese media Photo)
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In all, two people died. Thirty-two others were

rescued early this morning. They spent almost 23 hours underground in a flooded

mineshaft. All are described as being in stable condition at a local hospital.

Wang Dexue, deputy head of the State Administration

of Work Safety, told Chinese media the Gaomendong Coal Mine in Jiaxian County was

operating illegally, when the accident happened. The mine's owner, Lou Gaofeng,

has been detained.

"Although the mine's production license is valid

until November 2009, the mine was undergoing a technical innovation for

expansion, which has yet to be approved for resuming production," said Wang.

The safety production agency also said the mine's

owner, Lou, did not report the accident until two hours after it occurred.

Miners found water seeping into the shaft before it

flooded at about 7:20 a.m. Monday. There were 42 people working underground at

the time. Eight managed to escape.

Jiaxian, about 200 km southwest of the provincial

capital Zhengzhou, is rich in mineral resources with an estimated coal reserve

of about 2 billion tons, according to the county government website. (www.jiaxian.gov.cn)

Thirty-two of 34 people trapped in

central China flooded coal mine

rescued

JIAXIAN, Henan, Nov.

18 (Chinese media) -- Rescuers pulled 32 of the 34 trapped miners out of a flooded coal

mine alive in central China's Henan Province early Tuesday morning, almost 23

hours after the accident occurred. One died and another was still missing. Full story

A rescued miner is helped out at the

Gaomendong coal mine in Jiaxian county, Pingdingshan city, central China's

Henan Province Nov. 18, 2008. Of the 34-trapped miners in the flooded

coalmine accident, one died and one was still missing. The other

thirty-two were successfully lifted out early Tuesday morning.(Chinese media

Photo)
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