A sudden explosion of rock in a coal mine in central China
following a small earthquake killed four miners and trapped
57 others, a state news agency has reported today.
The accident in the coal mine in the city of Sanmenxia in
Henan province occurred on Thursday evening (local time) when
75 miners were working in the shaft, the official Xinhua News
Agency said. Fourteen workers escaped.
The Qianqiu Coal Mine belongs to Yima Coal Group, a large
state-owned coal company in Henan, the State Administration
of Work Safety said on its website.
Xinhua said a magnitude-2.9 earthquake occurred to the east
of Sanmenxia and that the rock explosion happened about 30
minutes later.
The phenomenon known as a "rock burst" occurs when settling
layers of earth bear down on the walls of a mine and result
in a sudden, catastrophic release of stored energy. Exploding
pillars can turn chunks of rock or coal into deadly missiles,
and the shock waves alone can be lethal.
China's coal mines are the most dangerous in the world,
although the industry's safety record has improved in recent
years as smaller, illegal mines have been closed.
Annual fatalities are now about one-third of the high of
nearly 7000 in 2002.
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