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37 killed in two coal mine gas blasts
( 2001-11-18 10:39 ) (8 )

Gas explosions killed 37 workers in two coal mines in China's northern province of Shanxi this week, media reported on Saturday.

One blast killed 33 when it ripped through a mine on Thursday in Jiaocheng County, about 70 km (44 miles) northeast of the capital Taiyuan, Xinhua news agency said.

Twelve miners had been rescued from that mine so far and police had arrested four and were investigating several others in connection with the blast.

The other explosion occurred on Wednesday at a mine in Yuxian County, about 50 km (30 miles) southwest of Taiyuan, killing four people and leaving four missing.

Two workers had been rescued after the blast and 26 escaped the small mine.

Officials with the Committee for Safety in Production under the State Council, said 2,378 coal mine accidents were reported during the first 10 months of the year and the death toll was down by 7.24 percent from the year before.

China closed down 11,882 small coal mines in the same period to boost safety.

Authorities had listed the Yuxian mine for closure because of "small production and flawed safety standards".

Xinhua quoted an official as saying the mine had been shut since June and the 36 workers on site were making repairs. But a survivor told the agency the workers had been mining coal when the blast happened.

Investigators determined that poor ventilation was the cause of Thursday's gas explosion in Jiaocheng County and early reports indicated the ventilation problem might have stemmed from a new shaft being built too close to an old one.

Police said their investigation showed that mine owner Hou Junping, deputy head of the mine Wu Xinglong, production section chief Jin Zhirong and Yang Shiguo, head of a mine construction team, were directly responsible.

Local sources said that as of November 16 all township and village run coal mines in that area were ordered to stop production for safety checks.

A county police official told reporters the bodies of the dead had already been removed from the privately run mine.

In September, at least 23 people were killed in a similar blast in Shanxi.

The total number of small coal mines has been cut to 23,000 from 82,000 in 1997 reducing annual coal output by small mines to about 200 million tonnes from 620 million in 1997.