31 Miners Die in two Chinese Coal Mine Accidents

April 11, 2002
The city of Jixi in northeastern China has proved to be a jinx for coal miners working in two separate mines. And it's not the first time that tragedy has struck at mines in the city.

The city of Jixi in northeastern China has proved to be a jinx for coal miners working in two separate mines. And it''s not the first time that tragedy has struck at mines in the city.

The explosions occurred on Tuesday and officials speculate that both were caused by natural gas. The first blast killed 24 miners at the Donghai Coal Mine, and later in the day, an explosion in the No. 3 Pit of the Didao District Coal Co killed seven miners. Four miners are still missing in that explosion.

Last February, a gas explosion at another mine in Jixi killed 35 miners. In 2001, a total of 5,670 coal miners died in fires, floods and explosions in Chinese mines.

There are thousands of coal mines in China; the government shut down over 12,000 mines in the past year for safety violations, with shut downs of 8,000 more planned. The shake-out, say government officials, will leave China with about 15,000 coal mines. Many of the mines targeted for shutdown are small operations, lacking proper ventilation, basic safety equipment and training for employees.

By comparison, there were 2,127 coal mines in the United States in 2001 and a total of 42 miners were killed in coal mine accidents that year.

by Sandy Smith ([email protected])

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EHS Today's editorial staff includes:

Dave Blanchard, Editor-in-Chief: During his career Dave has led the editorial management of many of Endeavor Business Media's best-known brands, including IndustryWeekEHS Today, Material Handling & LogisticsLogistics Today, Supply Chain Technology News, and Business Finance. In addition, he serves as senior content director of the annual Safety Leadership Conference. With over 30 years of B2B media experience, Dave literally wrote the book on supply chain management, Supply Chain Management Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons, 2021), which has been translated into several languages and is currently in its third edition. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at major trade shows and conferences, and has won numerous awards for writing and editing. He is a voting member of the jury of the Logistics Hall of Fame, and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University.

Adrienne Selko, Senior Editor: In addition to her roles with EHS Today and the Safety Leadership Conference, Adrienne is also a senior editor at IndustryWeek and has written about many topics, with her current focus on workforce development strategies. She is also a senior editor at Material Handling & Logistics. Previously she was in corporate communications at a medical manufacturing company as well as a large regional bank. She is the author of Do I Have to Wear Garlic Around My Neck?, which made the Cleveland Plain Dealer's best sellers list.

Nicole Stempak, Managing Editor:  Nicole Stempak is managing editor of EHS Today and conference content manager of the Safety Leadership Conference.

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