Mine where workers died partly owned by officials

By Edward Cody, Washington Post  |  August 12, 2005

BEIJING -- State television reported yesterday that an illegally operated coal
mine, in which more than 120 workers drowned deep underground on Sunday, was
partly owned by local Chinese officials.

The personal connection to the Daxing Coalmine, by officials in Xingning, 250
miles northwest of Hong Kong, suggested an explanation for the local
government's tolerance of overproduction, mismanagement, and safety lapses that
investigators said contributed to the tragedy. The revelation added urgency to
an expanding investigation of malfeasance in the latest of a series of Chinese
mining disasters.

The Guangdong provincial government ordered 69 officials with authority over
private mining operations such as Daxing to make themselves available to
investigators, and two local mayors were suspended. Premier Wen Jiabao's office
announced that the central government would lead the inquiry. A senior official
from Communist Party's Central Discipline Inspection Commission also flew to
Daxing to participate.

Officials said virtually no hope remained for the miners, who were trapped in a
shaft more than 900 feet underground when the flooding began early Sunday
afternoon.

In all, 127 were on the job at the time water rushed into the shaft from a
previously worked cavity that had filled up with seepage. Four escaped. Of the
remaining 123, one body has been found, the official New China News Agency
quoted officials as saying.

Relatives of the miners, many of whom were migrant workers from poor areas of
the country, poured into Xingning seeking news of their loved ones. In such
cases, the government usually arranges for the mining company to pay
compensation to survivors, a practice that has become achingly familiar in
recent years as the number of accidents multiplies.

Unsafe operations and lax enforcement of safety rules, often accompanied by
bribes, have plagued Chinese coal mines as owners seek to maximize production
and take advantage of high prices in this energy-starved country.

About 2,700 Chinese coal miners have perished during the first half of this year
and more than 6,000 were killed during 2004, according to government statistics.