Illegal work blamed in mine disaster
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E-mail China Daily, December 4, 2012
A flood in a coal mine in Qitaihe in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, where 14 miners remain trapped, was the result of illegal mining, according to local authorities.
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Floodwater is pumped from the Furuixiang Coal Mine in Qitaihe city, Heilongjiang province, on Monday. Fourteen miners were trapped underground after a flood at the mine on Saturday. [Photo by Qin Cunguang / for China Daily] |
As of Monday evening, rescuers were still pumping water out of Furuixiang Coal Mine, which flooded at about 11:40 pm on Saturday, but rescuers could not predict when the water will be drained, Li Shuguang, an official in charge of emergency response with the city's work safety bureau, told China Daily.
"The rescue operation is a race against time. I am convinced there is still hope to save the trapped miners. The rescuers will never give up," he said.
But he said rescue headquarters were unable to locate the trapped miners.
Fourteen miners had been trapped in the pit for more than 50 hours as of press time on Monday. Five pumps have been put into use and are able to drain 455 metric tons of water per hour.
"The mine's owner deliberately hid the real conditions in the pit and provided us with a false map," Li said. "That led to a miscalculation of the amount of floodwater in the pit."
In addition, the bad weather is posing challenges for the rescue.
Heavy snow began to fall at about 4 pm on Monday, and forecasts predict the snow will not stop until Wednesday.
The lowest temperature in the early morning of Tuesday in Qitaihe will be -11 C, according to China Meteorological Administration.
Local authorities have mobilized more than 300 experienced miners to join the rescue operation, according to Li.
The rescuers are divided into five teams and work day and night, according to Qu Yuguo, a veteran miner participating in the rescue operation.
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