The Provincial government of
Hunan in central China on Wednesday issued an emergency
circular ordering 400 small mines on its blacklist to shut down
before April 1.
Colliery gas explosions and flooding are two major causes of
colliery accidents, which have claimed 79 lives in Hunan so far
this year. The toll was 29 more than that recorded last year, said
Xie Guangxiang, head of the provincial safety production
watchdog.
Xie said that the bureau has issued a scroll listing names of
the coal mines required to obey the order.
He said that all of the mines on the list failed to pass safety
inspections.
"Only if they could correct safety issues and pass the
re-examination by the bureau, would they be able to resume the
business," said Xie.
The bureau plans to dispatch supervisors to reinforce the
regulation.
(Xinhua News Agency March 16, 2006)
