Rescuers finally give up search for 31 trapped Chinese coal miners

Despite two weeks of rescue efforts including dewatering a flooded coal mine, rescuers finally gave up the search for 31 coal miners trapped underground in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China.

RENO, NV - 

Groundwater management problems during the construction of a new underground coal mine are probably to blame for the latest tragedy in Chinese coal mining as rescue efforts were halted Sunday for 31 miners trapped underground in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

China Daily reported that no signs of life have been detected in the two weeks after underground water flooded a pit of the Luotuoshan Coal mine or the Camel Head Mountain mine in Wuhai City.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, himself a geologist, ordered the rescue efforts continue as rapidly as possible to save the miners who were trapped on March 1. More than 1,000 would-be rescuers finally stopped their efforts Sunday after medical teams said the trapped coal miners had no chance of survival.

The newly constructed coal mine belongs to a subsidiary of China's largest coal miner, the Shenhua Group Corp. The mine is designed to produce 1.5 million tonnes of coal annually and was expected to begin production in May.

Yang Xuelin, one of seven miners who survived, told official state news agency Xinhua, the experience "was horrific" as about 100,000 cubic meters flooded the mine.

"A wave of water pounded us and eight people suddenly went missing," he added. Yang said he survived by clinging to a piece of wood.

Chinese mines are considered among the world's most dangerous. However, the number of people killed in Chinese coal mine accidents dropped from 3,215 in 2008 to 2,631 in 2009 or an average of seven fatalities per day, according to official reports.

In the first two months of this year 115 accidents were reported at Chinese coal mines, down 18.7% from the same period of 2009, according to official data.

The trapped miners in the Luotuoshan coal mine tragedy were from Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and the Provinces of Gansu, Shaanxi and Henan.

National People's Congress legislator Wang Rungang-- a spokesman for Wuhai Energy, which operates the Luotuoshan coal mine--said the deadly flooding reminded him that "work safety requires constant and unremitting efforts." Shenhua Group is the parent company for Wuhai Energy.

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