At least 10 killed in northeastern China gold mine accident

USPA News - At least ten people were killed and several others were injured during a mine accident in northeastern China, local authorities said Tuesday. The accident took place at the Laojinchang Glold Mine in the city of Huadian in Jilin Province, when a fire broke out at around 4 a.m. local time.

Huadian government officials said the fire produced a dense buildup of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, causing dozens of workers to suffer from poisoning, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. A total of fifty-seven workers were inside the mine when the accident took place, which preliminary investigations said was caused by faulty electric wiring. Local authorities also confirmed the number of deaths, saying nine of them lost their lives inside the mine. While rescue workers pulled out nineteen people after the fire broke out, one of them died while being transported for medical treatment. Of the 27 injured, one was reported in critical condition. Further details were not immediately available, but mine accidents are not uncommon in the Asian country. China in recent years shut down scores of small mines to improve safety and efficiency in the mining industry. The country has also ordered all mines to build emergency shelter systems by June 2013 which are to be equipped with machines to produce oxygen and air conditioning, protective walls and airtight doors to protect workers against toxic gases and other hazardous factors. The first manned test of such a permanent underground chamber was carried out in August when around 100 people - including managers, engineers, miners, medical staff, and the chamber`s developers - took part in a 48-hour test at a mine owned by the China National Coal Group in the city of Shuozhou in northern China`s Shanxi Province. One of the worst mining accidents in China in recent years happened in November 2009 when 104 workers were killed after several explosions at a coal mine in Heilongjiang province.