Desk Report
Published: 13 Sep 2021, 07:51 pm
19 Chinese Workers Trapped in Coal Mine Found Dead || Photo: Collected
Nineteen Chinese miners who became trapped underground when a
coal mine collapsed last month were found dead on Monday, state media reported,
after a huge rescue effort.
Twenty-one people were
working in the Chaidaer mine in remote Qinghai province in northwest China when
the roof suddenly caved in on August 14, local officials said last month.
One survivor and one dead
miner were lifted to the surface days after the collapse, but rescuers failed
to reach the rest before Monday, when the remaining bodies were recovered.
"As of early morning
Monday, rescue work has basically finished. The 19 trapped individuals were all
discovered in the search, none of whom had vital signs," state broadcaster
CCTV reported, citing the rescue team.
More than 1,000 people
participated in the recovery effort that lasted almost 30 days, CCTV said,
working in gruelling conditions at an altitude of over 3,800 metres.
The mine is on the vast,
high-altitude Qinghai-Tibetan plateau – often dubbed the "Roof of the
World" -- a sparsely populated area with a harsh climate.
Mining accidents occur
frequently in China, where the industry has a poor safety record and
regulations are often weakly enforced.
In January, 11 of a group
of 22 miners were dramatically rescued from a collapsed mine in Shandong
province, eastern China, after they spent two weeks trapped hundreds of metres
underground.
A gold mine explosion in the same province killed 10 people in February.