A fire swept on Friday through a small coal mine in Northeast China's Jilin Province, killing 25 of the 29 miners who were working underground at the time. Four others are still missing.
The initial blaze, at the Wenbao mine, began in the winch cabin at 9:15am when the crank to one of the mine's shafts caught fire, reported Xinhua.
Long plumes of smoke were soon billowing out and flames quickly engulfed the shaft leading down to where the men were digging for coal. Police and specially trained rescue teams were first on the scene and more than 100 rescuers were sent down to look for any survivors.
Thick vapour, a residue of the extinguished fire, at the mouth of the coal shaft made it very difficult for rescuers to descend to the coal face. They were also hampered and kept back by the density of the smoke and poor visibility .
Altogether 25 bodies, most of whom were found hand-in-hand, had been recovered by yesterday morning. It is believed the miners managed to escape part of the way, holding hands to form a human chain, but were then overcome by carbon monoxide. Just three seconds in an area dense with carbon monoxide can be fatal, reported the Jiangnan Times, citing an expert.
The fate of the four missing miners is, at the moment, a matter of speculation.
(China Daily December 9, 2002)
