From January to November, 3,413 mining accidents were reported in China, claiming 5,286 lives, a decrease of 253 incidents and 451 people from the first 11 months of last year, said State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) Director Wang Xianzheng at a Tuesday teleconference on production safety.

The death rate per million tons of coal is 2.998 percent, down 0.846 percent year-on-year, he said, stressing that "this is the lowest rate in history."

China produced 35 percent of the world's coal last year, but reported 80 percent of the total deaths in coal mine accidents, calculating from SAWS' November statistics.

In 2003, the average coal miner in China produced 321 tons of coal a year; only 2.2 percent of that in the United States and 8.1percent that of South Africa. The death rate per 100 tons of coal, however, is 100 times of that of the US and 30 times that of South Africa.

The Chinese government has taken steps to improve safety at coal mines. In 2000, it set up a national surveillance system to monitor safety conditions.

In subsequent years, the government earmarked more than 4 billion yuan (US$480 million) to help state-owned and small local coal mines to install systems to monitor gas levels and prevent explosions.

At Tuesday's conference, local governments were admonished to give more attention to work safety, implementing systems to reduce the number of accidents, casualties and economic losses. They were also instructed to make work safety a main criterion in assessing an official's job performance.

All enterprises, especially coal mines, are required to inspect safety conditions and correct any deficiencies. They are encouraged to install technologically advanced equipment to improve safety, with local governments providing support.

On the day of the teleconference, another six miners were killed and two more left missing in a gas explosion in a Chongqing Municipality coal mine, local authorities said.

The blast occurred at around 3:00 PM in Shimamen Colliery, located near the city of Yongchuan. Sixteen workers were rescued and hospitalized; doctors reported that three were "poisoned slightly but not in danger." No report was provided on the condition of the other 13.

Rescue operations and an investigation into the cause of the blast are continuing.

Meanwhile, 18 miners have now been confirmed dead following Monday's fire at the Xinli Coal Mine in Xiangtan County, Hunan Province. Three of the 21 men working underground escaped when the fire broke out and five were found early Tuesday. The bodies of the remaining 13 were recovered at about 5:00 PM Tuesday from a tunnel about 500 meters underground.

The fire was caused by a short circuit 480 meters underground.

In Guizhou Province, hopes of finding the 36 miners trapped since Sunday in a flooded mine in Sinan County were growing dim. Rescue teams are using two giant pumps to bail out the water but have not been able to reach the trapped workers.

Water gushed into the Xujiaba Coal Mine shaft Sunday when 80 miners were underground, apparently when drills hit an underground reservoir. Forty-four escaped safely.

(Xinhua News Agency December 15, 2004)