TAIYUAN, May 23– All-out rescues are still underway to reach the nine people who remained unaccounted for following a coal mine accident in north China’s Shanxi Province, which has killed 82 people.
The gas explosion hit the Liushenyu coal mine in Qinyuan County at 7:29 p.m. on Friday, when more than 200 people were down the shaft, according to the county’s emergency management bureau.
A total of 123 people are receiving treatment at hospitals, including two in critical condition and two in serious condition, while 119 others sustained minor injuries.
The province has sent 755 people including rescuers and medical personnel to the site. The Ministry of Emergency Management said it had dispatched six national mine emergency rescue teams, totaling 345 people, to assist in rescue efforts.
Multiple rescue teams are taking turns going down the shaft. Near the mine entrance, a professional rescue team had just risen from underground when another team stood ready to descend.
“As long as there is hope, we will make every possible effort,” one rescuer told Xinhua.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged all-out rescue of the missing and treatment of the injured and demanded a thorough investigation into its cause, with accountability pursued in accordance with the law.
Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, stressed that authorities across the country must learn lessons from the accident, remain vigilant on workplace safety, and intensify efforts to identify and eliminate potential risks in order to prevent major accidents.
Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, led a team to the site to oversee the rescue efforts and the handling of the accident’s aftermath.
A doctor from the Licheng County, about 130 km away from Qinyuan County, said they received the order at 4 a.m. and immediately rushed to the scene with equipment and medicine. Currently, together with other medical rescue teams, they remain on standby at the site.
“If any survivors are brought up, they will receive timely treatment without delay,” the doctor said.
The 119 patients with minor injuries have all been transferred to major hospitals for close observation and treatment. The severely and critically injured patients are under tailored treatment developed by medical expert teams.
The National Health Commission has organized remote consultations by medical experts in Beijing. Respiratory, burning and orthopedic specialists from two Beijing hospitals have also been dispatched to the scene.
The persons responsible for the company involved in the mine accident have been placed under control in accordance with the law, local authorities said.
An investigation team sent by China’s State Council has vowed to thoroughly and strictly investigate the accident. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
