Society

Flood complicates rescue efforts in N China mine

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-03-07 09:13

HOHHOT - Continuing flood has complicated rescue efforts in a coal mine in north China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, where 31 miners were trapped, a rescue official said on Saturday.

Underground water flooded a pit of Luotuoshan Coal Mine in Wuhai city, at least 600 kilometers from the regional capital Hohhot on Monday when 77 miners were working.

One miner was dead, 45 were rescued while 31 more were still trapped underground.

Ten pumps have drained 110,000 cubic meters of water by 6:20 pm Saturday. But the water level had remained almost unchanged over the past three days because the underground flooding continued, said Lan Yi, spokesman of the rescue headquarters.

He added that rescuers were preparing to block the water source 420 meters underground.

On Saturday the rescuers managed to drill a hole to reach a mining shaft 202 meters deep, where 12 workers are believed to be trapped.

Lan said the rescuers were pumping oxygen into the shaft and also used infrared surveillance cameras and echo megaphones to detect life underground.

The trapped miners are from Ningxia Hui autonomous region and provinces of Gansu, Shaanxi and Henan, according to a full name list published Saturday.

Luotuoshan Coal Mine, which is still under construction, is owned by Wuhai Energy Co Ltd under Shenhua Group Corp Ltd, the country's largest coal producer.

Construction of the mine started in 2006. It is designed to produce 1.5 million tons of coal a year.

Last year, Inner Mongolia replaced the northern Shanxi province to become China's leading coal base with 637 million tons of output.