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Hunan: gas leak in a graphite mine, 15 miners dead
Vain efforts of the rescuers, who worked until dawn to extract the trapped miners. The accident occurred yesterday afternoon in a quarry not far from the city of Chenzhou. On August 24 a similar incident in another graphite mine in Hunan; immediate rescue operations saved the lives of the miners
Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The death toll is of 15 people dead in an accident in a graphite mine in China. The official Xinhua news agency reports that the incident occurred yesterday afternoon about 4 pm at the local JICA Graphite Mine, a quarry not far from the city of Chenzhou in central Hunan province.
The miners died from inhaling a poisonous gas that leaked within the quarry. Local authorities reported that rescue operations began immediately after the alarm was raised and continued until three o'clock this morning. Despite efforts, it was not possible to save some workers trapped in the mine.
Officials have launched an investigation to discover the causes of the tragedy, but at present there are few details. On 24 August, again in Chenzhou, eight miners were trapped in a cave, following the flooding of a shaft. The accident happened at Wangdi Graphite Mine. In this case, however, rescuers succeeded in saving the miners, who were freed the next day.
China's mines are considered the most dangerous in the world: rapid economic growth leads to a growing hunger for energy, most often at the expense of workers safety.