Society

Team to investigate C China coal mine gas leak

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-10-19 16:54

BEIJING - China's top work safety watchdog said the State Council, the Cabinet, has approved to set up a work team Tuesday to investigate a major coal mine gas leak that killed 37 people in the central Henan Province.

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The team, headed by Luo Lin, chief of the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS), will investigate the cause and who was to blame for the accident, said a statement from the SAWS.

The gas outburst happened at 6:03 am Saturday when 276 miners were working underground in the mine in Yuzhou City in Henan. A total of 239 workers escaped.

The mine is owned by Pingyu Coal & Electric Co Ltd, a company jointly established by four investors, including Zhong Ping Energy Chemical Group and China Power Investment Corp.

A similar incident happened in the same mine on Aug 1, 2008, killing 23 people, Luo Lin said in the statement, adding, "this time another incident of more severe consequences happened. It shows the coal mine has major flaws in safety management and measures to prevent gas leaks have not been effectively put in place."

An initial investigation showed that 173,500 cubic meters of gas leaked out in the accident.