[Broadcast on 15 May 2003]

In the afternoon of 14 May, a gas explosion occurred at the Luling Coalmine of Huaibei Mineral Group, Anhui province. On 16 May at 8.00 am the Luling Coalmine Control Room confirmed with me that 81 bodies had been found:

Control Room:

Maybe more than 80 – probably 82! Still yet to be confirmed…… not sure about the exact figure. Some of them…..the bodies… are deformed. [we] can’t verify their identity.

Han Dongfang [Han]:

The number of bodies that have been found...

Control Room:

More than 80, around 81 or 82. Still no confirmed figure.

Han:

Then how about those …

Control Room:

Several of them are not yet found. We’re still searching.

Han:

Have the relatives gone to search for themselves?

Control Room:

The relatives? They are now…our district… is rather peaceful at this moment – rather peaceful.

Han:

It’s said that they’ve [the relatives] been sent to other nearby coalmines, is this true?

Control Room:

The relatives? I’m not sure about that.

Han:

Have the relatives started to identify the bodies?

Control Room:

No, they haven’t. The staff of the unit have done that instead.

Han:

Then will the relatives be allowed to identify bodies?

Control Room:

After our staff have done it, then the relatives…… Well, there is no need for further identification!

Han:

They aren’t going to identify the bodies?

Control Room:

The miners carried lamps, and their identities can be verified by the number of their lamps. In the mine, each one has a number.

Han:

This means that the relatives can’t identify the bodies?

Control Room:

The relatives……will follow the leadership’s instruction.

Han:

They have to listen to the leadership.

Control Room:

Right. Right.

A retired worker of the Luling Coalmine said over the phone that based upon his experience in the shaft, the accident was very likely caused by the fact that people overlooked the gas density detection [system] and there was a build up of gas.

Retired Miner:

This [accident]is related to the gas density. Maybe the density was high. It hadn’t been detected. It was ignored, maybe.

Han:

Ignored?

Retired Miner:

Yes.Yes.

I called the Huaibei Trade Union [ACFTU]. Mr. Zhang, the director of the office, said that the Chairman of the Trade Union had just come back from the scene, but he couldn’t talk about how they are going to deal with the aftercare work:

Director Zhang:

The information can’t be disclosed… our chairman has just been to the scene, and he is not allowed to talk about it. Now the provincial government has formed a group… a leadership group to manage the aftermath. The trade union provides assistance only.

I then made another call to Luling Coalmine Trade Union. A cadre of the trade union stressed that it the situation had been very stable there and yet he was not sure about all the details:

Trade Union:

Basically the atmosphere is stable there, but we are not sure about the details.

Han:

Have any relatives gone there to search [for bodies]?

Union:

No – not so far. The mine is quite peaceful.

Han:

Which department is responsible for dealing with the aftercare work?

Union:

I’m not very sure about the details.

Han:

What are the functions of the trade union in this incident?

Union:

Now, it is… to comfort the relatives!

Han:

Based on past experience, how much compensation will the relatives of the dead get?

Union:

It is stipulated in the regulations. About the compensation and the ways to manage it – they have all been stated in the regulations.

A Luling miner working in the shaft said that many workers in the miners’ housing estates were very dissatisfied, but the miners daren’t speak and ask anymore questions:

Coalface Miner:

Now … people would not speak to the outside. Generally speaking, they don’t want to ask any questions or make any comments. We workers daren’t talk about anything related to the mine, and we simply keep our mouth shut! Now when one learns more about the situation, and are affected by poverty, you’d better not to ask. Now the armed police from Qu County has come here and armed police from Huaibei has come too, together with the Public Security Bureau. They block us here, and never let us go. All the relatives are kept outside the mine - actually…You can’t get close to it.

Han:

What do the relatives go to the mine to do?

Miner:

You [they] come here… but now the mine doesn’t let you [they] get in! They watch you every night and day. I tell you – you can go to the worker’s village and ask people there, and you will know they are very discontented.

Han:

Do you know any of the accident victims?

Miner:

There is one … living a floor above me. Around 30 years old. His family has a child – probably about 5 years old.

Han:

It seems that most of the victims are young people?

Miner:

They are all young guys. Most of them are young guys.

Another worker told me on the phone about a worker suffering burns as a result of the accident:

Miner:

Yes, there is one called Zhu Shigui. Now, fortunately… fortunately he’s okay. He worked at the back of the work station – It is said that he suffered severe burns – he suffered burns all over his body. He is now out of danger, and is in Huaibei Hospital. When he was brought up from the shaft, one couldn’t really recognize him as he had suffered such terrible burns, and was at once sent to the Huaibei Hospital for treatment. His family has a father and mother as well as two younger sisters.

Han:

Has he got any kids?

Miner:

Yes. He has a kid. About 3 or 4 years old.

Han:

Does his wife have any work?

Miner:

She doesn’t.

This worker also told me that after the accident, all victims’ relatives have been sent to Huaibei and Xiu County.

Miner:

Now some of them are staying in Xiuzhou City; the rest are in Huaibei City.

Han:

All 80 families or more have been moved away? Some are in Huaibei and others in Xiu County.

Miner:

Right. It’s because in our city of Luling, there hasn’t ever been such a big accident. Never! Now this one single accident has killed so many people. Everyone here feels uneasy.

Han:

So are there any relatives (of the dead) staying behind in your mine?

Miner:

No. No more. To be frank, everyone feels very upset! At the time when this huge news was known, the parents and wives of the workers who hadn’t come home the previous night gathered at the gate of the mine, calling for the latest news. The boss told them to “go home and wait for information”. Then the people went home one by one, waiting for news.

Han:

Then they were all been moved away?

Miner:

Well, later people got the records of the lamp room, and then checked up on the units [work-Rota] list. The bodies have been identified one after the other, and after everything was confirmed, they informed the families…

Han:

And then they moved away?

Miner:

Right.

Han:

That means no one from these 80 or more families is at home right now?

Miner:

No one is at home.

According to the Huaibei City Government’s official website, the provincial government of Anhui called an urgent tele-meeting on the production safety in the afternoon of May 14. The meeting mentioned that the failure to observe laws and rules in production is commonplace and this explains the increase in casualties and deaths from accidents, as well as the increased occurrence of large and extremely large accidents when compared with last year.