Grieving families demand answers after mine blast

Hegang: Grieving family members demanded answers yesterday from mining officials about the underground gas explosion that left at least 104 men dead in northeastern China.

The massive blast on Saturday in Hegang city in frigid Heilongjiang province erupted at night when some 500 miners were working below ground. Most escaped, but 104 were confirmed dead and an additional four were missing and feared dead, the official Xinhua news agency reported yesterday.

The explosion at the Xinxing coal mine, which belongs to the state-owned Heilongjiang Longmei Mining Holding Group, was the deadliest in China's mining industry in two years, and has highlighted how heavy demand for power-generating coal comes at a high human cost.

At the gates of the mining company's offices, family members and friends confronted mining officials with questions until some of them were escorted into an office by police, security guards and other officials.

"Why don't you tell us anything?" one shouted. "Not even a phone call!"

Inside the room, Liu Shujiu, whose 38-year-old husband Zhang Shulai was among the victims, broke down in tears as she sat in a chair "Why haven't they told us anything?" she wailed. "We had to hear from others at the mine."

A mine official, who — like many Chinese officials — refused to give his name for fear of government reprisals, held up a list of miners' names and tried to calm the crowd: "There are certainly dead. You don't take it well, we know. But there's a process. I feel as bad as you," he said, pausing before admitting that the delay in informing family members was a mistake.

"In this, we were wrong," he said.

No information

Liu, who said mining officials had brought her rice but little information over the weekend, said officials have given families no information about the details and circumstances of the blast. "We thought the state mines were safe. Why did he die?" she said. The couple have a nine-year-old daughter, whom she had not yet told. "How do I tell her that her father is not coming home?"

Initial investigations showed the coal mine blast was due to the lack of proper management, Luo Lin, the head of China's State Administration of Work Safety, was quoted as telling CCTV on Monday.

"The preliminary site analysis shows that those responsible for ensuring safety did not implement adequate measures, and potential safety threats were not seriously and thoroughly investigated," he said.