AP: 115 Die in China Mine

Mon Jul 8, 4:08 AM ET

BEIJING (AP) - A northeastern China coal mine where a gas explosion killed 115 workers last month had been ordered closed at least seven times before the fatal accident, the official Communist Party newspaper reported Monday.

The Chengzihe mine in Jixi, a town in Heilongjiang province, was plagued by mismanagement, had not undergone routine inspections and ignored safety procedures, the party newspaper People's Daily said, quoting the State Administration of Mine Safety.

The paper did not specify when the safety agencies, both regional and national, ordered the mine closed. A local inspection team went to the mine, which lacked money to update out-of-date equipment, just days before the June 20 accident, it said.

A man who answered the phone at the Chengzihe mine Monday morning refused comment. At the time of the accident, the mine had 5,500 workers and produced 1.1 million tons of coal annually, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

China's notoriously unsafe coal mines have killed more than 3,400 people already this year -- and more than 150 miners in the past month alone. The worst offenders are typically small, privately owned mines operating under the radar of provincial and national safety agencies.

The central government, under pressure to boost safety, has promised to close mines where deadly accidents occur and punish operators.

On Sunday, the government convened a teleconference of provincial and local governments to discuss mine safety strategies and urge agencies at all levels to stem the tide of fatalities.

"Enterprises turning a deaf ear to safety regulations and management processes are the main reason for the recent disasters," said Zhao Tiechui, deputy director of the State Administration of Work Safety Supervision. He was quoted by the official China Daily newspaper on Monday.

Also Sunday, the owner of a northeastern China coal mine where an explosion trapped 39 workers in a pit last week surrendered to police after family members pushed him to turn himself in, Xinhua said.

Chen Xiaoguo, 37, was taken into custody Sunday morning, the news agency said, quoting Li Shuguo, the mayor of Baishan city. Chen had been missing since Thursday's accident in the Fuqiang mine.

Rescuers recovered two bodies after going underground through a separate pit and digging through to the area of the blast.

Officials have said they have little hope of finding survivors, but nearly 500 rescuers were continuing their work late Sunday night, Xinhua said.

In that same community, at least two more miners were killed Sunday morning when another private coal mine flooded, Xinhua said. Five others remained missing Monday as rescue work continued. The owner of the mine fled and was being sought, the news agency said.