Deadly blasts kill 40 miners in SW China

A total of 28 people died in a gas explosion and 18 were injured at a coal mine in Sichuan Province Saturday, following another explosion in Guizhou Province that killed 12 people Friday. Both accidents were caused by illegal mining.

There were 108 miners underground in the Taozigou coal mine in Luxian county, Sichuan, when the blast occurred. Coal was being mined there illegally during a technical upgrading period. There was mining activity at 22 coal faces, but none had ventilation facilities. A spark set off an explosion because of accumulated gas, reported the news website scol.com.cn Sunday.

All coal mines in Sichuan have been ordered to suspend production for rectification. Taozigou mine has had its license revoked and has been shut down permanently. A name list of the victims was released by China Central Television Sunday.

In Guizhou, the cause of the fatal blast at the Dashan coal mine in Anshun was because mining was being done past the approved coal seam, said an official, surnamed Zhang, from the local safety work administration.

Officials held responsible, including the deputy head of the Guizhou county, have been suspended from their posts.

According to the country's work safety administration, 1,384 people died in 2012 in mining accidents, 29.9 percent down from 2011.

While the number of mining accident victims saw nine consecutive years of reduction up to 2011, Guizhou, Hunan, Sichuan, Yunnan provinces and Chongqing Municipality have become the areas that suffered most from such accidents. These areas accounted for more than half of the victims in the country in 2011.

Zhou Shining, a professor at the China University of Mining and Technology, told the Global Times that the geological conditions for Sichuan and Guizhou provinces and most of Southwest China are unsuitable for coal mining.

"Local governments should increase input into mining infrastructure and equipment if they continue mining in order to prevent future accidents."

"Most mines in the Southwest have big gas pressure and soft coal so they are prone to explosions. But it's impossible to transport all the coal these areas need [from elsewhere], considering the huge demand and poor traffic conditions, so the mines remained," he said.

He added that while improving management is crucial, the fundamental solution would be to increase investment in mining and safety equipment.

"The ideal solution will be shutting down small mines with an annual production of under 300,000 tons and increasing government subsidies for larger mines which have better geological conditions," Zhou said.

"They must also improve disaster prevention ability, like adding gas extracting and ventilation equipment," he said.