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Owner of disaster-struck coal mine disappears
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-12-05 09:44
The owner
of a Chinese mine where flooding has trapped 42 miners
underground has disappeared, state media reported on Monday.
Jin Changsong, owner of the Sigou Coal Mine in the central province of Henan,
went missing after Friday's accident along with several of his managers, Xinhua
news agency reported. The mine had been operating without a safety licence.
The local public security bureau issued a circular for Jin's arrest, Xinhua
said, while rescuers scrambled to pump thousands of cubic metres of water out of
the mine.
Authorities have launched a series of
campaigns to clean up an industry that killed some 2,700 in the first half of
this year alone and more than 6,000 last year.
But with profits from the fuel that feeds about 70 percent of China's economy
keeping the coal industry booming, analysts say there is little incentive for
mine owners to implement safety regulations.
An explosion at a coal mine in northeastern China last week killed
at least 169.
"The management of the colliery was extremely confused.
Attendance registration, lamp issuance and security checks on miners were in a
complete mess," said Zhao Tiechu, head of the State Administration of Coal
Mine Safety Supervision.
Authorities have shut down the state-owned mine and
detained several top officials.
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