Fifteen miners died and another three were injured when a tramcar derailed in a coal mine in central China, authorities said Thursday, in the latest accident to hit the dangerous industry.
The incident happened at a pit near Leiyang city in Hunan province in the early hours of Thursday morning, China’s work safety administration said in a statement. Local officials told AFP that rescue efforts were still under way. Accidents are common in China’s vast coal mining sector where work safety is often neglected by bosses seeking a quick profit. Latest figures show that 2,433 people died in coal mining accidents in the country in 2010, according to official statistics — a rate of more than six workers per day. Labour rights groups, however, say the actual death toll is likely to be much higher, partly due to under-reporting of accidents as mine bosses seek to limit their economic losses and avoid punishment. China’s rapid economic growth has caused demand for energy, including coal, to surge.
