The Fuxin Mining Group has been ordered to halt production at its eight bases in northeast China for safety inspections after a gas blast killed 27 people at one of its pits on Wednesday.

 

All workers were required to take training courses on safety and labor skills during the suspension, said Li Jun, deputy secretary of the Party Committee of Fuxin Mining Group.

 

The Liaoning provincial coal industry administration on Friday began a general inspection of all eight mining entities administered by Fuxin Mining Group and demanded production be stopped until all hidden dangers are removed.

 

The blast happened at around 8:15 AM Wednesday in the Wulong Coal Mine, the group's biggest coal production base, killing 27 miners and injuring 36.

 

The location of the accident was fixed at the work face of No. 331 area, about 900 meters below ground. More than 180 rescuers were sent down to search for missing miners.

 

The injured, including 22 with severe burns and other with respiratory tract injuries, are receiving treatment at two hospitals.

 

A special group, led by Jia Bin, chief of Liaoning Coal Mine Safety Bureau, has been formed to investigate the cause of the explosion.

 

The Wulong mine, about 150 km northwest of the provincial capital Shenyang, had been in operation since 1957 and is capable of producing two million tons of coal annually.

 

(Xinhua News Agency July 1, 2006)