While Sunday, February 22, was spent being pleasantly idle for most Chinese, a coal mine blast made it a day of mourning in north China's Shanxi Province. As of February 25, the explosion killed 77 miners, making it China's deadliest accident so far this year.

BLAST SURVIVORS: Of the 436 miners working underground when gas exploded in the Tunlan Coal Mine in the early hours of February 22, 362 managed to escape alive by either helping each other or being saved by rescuers （CNSPHOTO）

The gas blast occurred at around 2:20 a.m., while 436 miners were working underground at Shanxi Coking Coal Group's Tunlan Coal Mine in Gujiao City, about 50 km away from Taiyuan, the provincial capital.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao immediately called for every effort to rescue the miners who had been trapped or injured in the blast. Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang arrived at the accident site to direct the rescue operation and console injured miners and families of the victims.

According to a company press conference, 114 miners had been hospitalized, five of whom were still in a critical condition. Three coal-mine officials were removed from their posts in the wake of the blast, including Yin Gencheng, head of the state-owned coal mine, the engineer-in-chief and a deputy chief in charge of work safety.

Governor breaks down

Wang Jun, Governor of coal-rich Shanxi Province, sobbed during a speech at the accident investigation meeting on February 24. "We should apologize to victim miners and their families for such an accident," said the governor, who lost composure and could not speak for nearly a minute. Shanxi has been rocked by several coal mine accidents in the last few years.

Wang, the former Director of the State Administration of Work Safety, was appointed as acting governor of Shanxi last September. His predecessor, Meng Xuenong, resigned after the collapse of an illegal mining dump triggered a massive landslide that killed at least 277. "Wang's appointment is a clear sign of Central Government's determination to turn around the province's grim mine accident record. Work safety has been Wang's top priority in Shanxi," said a report in China Economic Weekly.

The accident investigation team set up by the State Council and headed by Director of the State Administration of Work Safety Luo Lin, held its first meeting on February 24. Wang, a member of the investigation team, said at the meeting that several questions needed to be answered, including the cause and exact location of the explosion and who of the management and staff should be held responsible.

Bai Peizhong, President of Shanxi Coking Coal Group, said at the meeting that the rescue work began less than four minutes after the accident, while Zhao Tiechui, Deputy Director of the investigation team, spoke highly of the rescue work.

But Zhao also announced four mining safety violations had been revealed by the preliminary investigation. The team found insufficient ventilation and methane drainage systems, insufficient mining field management and a failure by management to implement safety measures.

The press department of the State Administration of Work Safety told Beijing Review on February 25 that the accident is still at the rescue and relief stage. A thorough investigation report could take up to two months to complete, according to the requirements of a 2007 State Council regulation.