Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
China families protest mine disaster, toll hits 104
Mon Nov 23, 2009 1:53am EST
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Maxim Duncan
HEGANG, China (Reuters) - Relatives of victims of a gas blast at a northeast Chinese coal mine scuffled with police and demanded answers from the owners on Monday as state media put the toll from the latest in a series of mine disasters at 104.
The protest came a day after another 11 miners were killed in a blast at a pit in the southern province of Hunan, Xinhua said. China's stability-obsessed government is nervous about any public protests, and will be keen to keep discontent under control.
China has the world's deadliest coal-mining industry with more than 3,000 people killed in mine floods, explosions, collapses and other accidents in 2008 alone.
Saturday's explosion at the mine in Hegang in the frigid province of Heilongjiang came as more than 500 miners were underground, though most were rescued.
A dozen women, relatives of the dead, braved the freezing temperatures on Monday to take their complaints about a lack of information to the mine's entrance, where they argued and scuffled with police and mine security.
"None of the officials have died, all of the dead are the workers," one lady shouted. "The officials are all alive, the workers are all dead. Not one of those officials has even been down into that mine."
Some of the women were taken inside the mine compound, while others were put into a large white van. At least one woman was dragged screaming into a car and driven away.
Some relatives complained that nobody had told them anything, and that could not reach local officials.
"Why have their mobile phones been off for several days? What's the reason behind it? Why haven't they given us answers? When will they respond to us and tell us what happened?" another woman said.
Police moved along bystanders, and formed a line with mine security guards inside the entrance to prevent unwanted visitors.
Men who declined to identify themselves also tried to stop reporters speaking to the women, putting their hands in front of cameras.
In 2007, after more than 180 miners died in a flooded coal mine in the northern province of Shandong, relatives stormed the offices of the company that operated the mine, smashing windows and accusing managers of not telling families what was happening.
Compared with other manual jobs, Chinese coal miners can earn relatively high wages, tempting workers and farmers into rickety and poorly ventilated shafts.
Safety staff knew gas in the mine had reached dangerous levels and were rushing to evacuate the miners when the blast erupted 500 meters (1,500 feet) below ground, state media reported over the weekend.
Central government prosecutors are already in Hegang overseeing investigations into any possible crimes or official misconduct behind the blast. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Iran launches war games to protect nuclear sites
Also on Reuters
Denmark says 65 leaders to join climate talks
"Twilight" sequel enters record books
U.S. Q3 seen revised down on widening trade deficit
More World News
Iran launches war games to protect nuclear sites
| Video
Israeli president plays down settlement work
Indonesian ferry sinks; 29 dead, most survive
| Video
Iraqi parliament fails to reach election deal
Sudan delays elections by six days
More World News...
Video
Death toll rises in China mine blast
Play Video
China mine explosion kills dozens
More Video...
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Taylor Swift, Jackson win American Music Awards
U.S. dollar no longer a one-way bet
Pope tells artists beauty can be a path to God
Taylor Swift wins five American Music Awards
Electric carmaker Tesla preparing IPO: sources
Canada money launderer shows holes in Vegas casinos
Radiation leak investigated at Three Mile Island
Google Chrome OS: Everything You Need to Know
Michael Jackson's glove sells for $350,000 at auction
Smash "Twilight" sequel enters record books
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
U.S. health reform moves on
Israeli warplanes pound Gaza
Iran begins air defence war games
Overcrowded ferry sinks in Indonesia
Assam on alert after blasts
U.S. hijack ship escapes second bid
H1N1 mutation discovered in Norway
California students protest fee hike
US set for healthcare test.
Death toll rises in China mine blast
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
The Great Debate
How to finance the war in Afghanistan?
Despite all the pondering President Obama has given to whether to increase troops, it seems he has given far too little consideration to the overall cost of escalating the war and how it will undercut his ability to fund the ambitious domestic policy agenda he has set out from bank bailouts to health care reform. Commentary
U.S. civilian experts train for the real Afghanistan
Full Coverage: Afghanistan
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Labs |
Journalism Handbook |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.