Eighteen miners were killed in a coal mine gas leak accident in Ningwu county, Shanxi Province, according to Xinhua.

The report said a collapse occurred in the ground within the mining area of Dahuiyao Coal Mine in Ningwu county at noon on 4 August which caused a fire.

A total of 34 miners were working underground when the accident occurred. Only three miners escaped. Rescuers later lifted 14 more miners out of the shaft and one of them died in the hospital. The rescue workers later found the bodies of the other 17 trapped miners.

Shanxi Province is the biggest coal producer in China, but a lot of fatal coal mine accidents also frequently happen in the province. On 7 July, a blast caused by explosives illegally stored at a villager’s home happened in the same county, killing 47 people, including school children, and inuring 28 others.
 
Source: Xinhua News Agency (5 August 2006)

5 August 2006