A Chinese mine disaster at the weekend in which more than 100 workers drowned is a prime example of pit owners flouting safety laws to make money, China's top work safety official claimed today.
The number of miners trapped in the mine in Xingning in the southern province of Guangdong was likely to climb from the originally reported 102 because authorities had heard about more missing men from their families, Xinhua news agency said in an overnight report.
The mine was operating without a licence and in violation of local government orders to shut down for inspections after a July flooding at another pit in Xingning, Xinhua said. The July accident killed 16.
"This is a typical case in which mine owners make money, miners lose their lives and the government pays the bill," Li Yizhong, director of the State Administration for Work Safety, was quoted as saying.
More 60 managers of the mine fled after Sunday's flooding, and the Xingning government had called for them to return to help with rescue efforts, Xinhua said.
China's mining industry claimed 2,700 lives in the first half of 2005 and estimates suggest as many as 10,000 people a year die in the industry many of which are unreported.
Hope had all but faded for the miners trapped on Sunday, as the water level in the pit has not fallen since it first flooded.
China has pledged some three billion yuan (€300 million) to improve safety standards at mines in the face of strong demand for coal, which accounts for around two-thirds of the country's energy consumption.