China coal mine gas leak kills 32

Posted 11 9 2007 12:33PM

BEIJING - A gas leak killed 32 coal miners Thursday in southwest China, while three others were missing and presumed dead, a government safety official said.

The leak occurred at the Qunli mine in Nayong county in Guizhou province, said the official with the Guizhou Provincial Coal Mine Safety Bureau. As is usual among Chinese bureaucrats, the man refused to give his name.

"Thirty-two dead and three missing are the latest figures," the official said. He declined to give any other details.

The cause of the gas leak was not immediately known.

The government warned recently that China's mining industry, the most dangerous in the world, would likely see more accidents as output was boosted to provide heating for the winter months.

China's coal mines average 13 deaths a day in fires, explosions and floods, despite government efforts to improve safety.

In August, 181 miners died when two mines flooded in eastern Shandong province after heavy rains.

Many of the accidents are blamed on mine owners who disregard safety rules and fail to invest in required ventilation, fire control and other equipment.