Xinhua Insight: 26 killed in coal mine fire in NE China

Two more miners have died, bringing the death toll of the coal mine fire in northeast China's Liaoning Province on Wednesday to 26.

Twenty-four people died at the scene and two were dead on arrival at hospital, Wang Haibing, chief engineer of the Liaoning Fuxin Coal Corporation, told a press conference late Wednesday.

Among the 52 others injured, 18 are in a serious condition, Wang said,mostly suffering burns and respiratory damage.

The rescue is complete and 10 medical specialists have been sent from the provincial capital to help with treatment, with four more from Beijing and Shanghai on their way.

SUDDEN FIRE

The fire occurred at 2:35 a.m. in a Hengda Coal mine, a subsidiary of the state-owned Liaoning Fuxin Coal Corporation, a major producer in the province.

Jiang Li, deputy chief engineer of Hengda who organized work at the platform, was killed, said Liu Zhipeng, Party head of the Hengda.

As the identities of some victims have not been confirmed, family members were waiting at the company gates by Wednesday noon.

Liu said the fire engulfed the work platform very suddenly, hence the heavy casualties. "The fire had already gone out before rescuers could do anything," he said.

The platform, 800 meters below ground, had been open for only two months.

TREMOR BLAMED

Before the fire broke out, a 1.6-magnitude quake was monitored at 1:31 a.m. near the coal mine. Initial investigations found the tremor might have raised a coal dust cloud, which later caught fire as it reached a certain density.

He Chuan, deputy general manager of Fuxin Coal, said sparks may have come from the shaking rocks and mining equipment during the tremor.

According to He, mine tremors could be very dangerous.

Fuxin Coal organized an emergency meeting on Wednesday, closing all of the corporation's mines for comprehensive safety checks.

A manager with the corporation said the coal mining industry was witnessing a "cold winter", referring to operating difficulties because of industrial overcapacity and demand decline.

"The accident has made the situation of the corporation even worse," said the manager who asked not to be named.