A screenshot of the coal mine that partly collapses on July 23, 2022 in Northwest China's Gansu Province. Photo: CCTV

 China's Ministry of Emergency Management sent a working group to the scene to guide the rescue disposal and accident investigation after a coal mine collapsed that killed 10 and injured seven in Baiyin, Northwest China's Gansu Province on Saturday, China Central Television (CCTV) reported.

After receiving reports of the accident on Saturday, the Ministry of Emergency Management immediately made contact with the personnel of Gansu Provincial Emergency Management Department and the Fire and Rescue Headquarters, who were at the accident site, to dispatch and deploy rescue and disposal work, CCTV reported Sunday. The Ministry of Emergency Management requested that all efforts be made to treat the injured and prevent secondary accidents from occurring.

The coal mine collapse took place around 11:15 am Saturday. The rescue of the accident is over. A total of 10 people were killed and seven injured in the accident, local authorities said on Saturday. All information about the people involved has been verified.

The Ministry of Emergency Management urged the local authorities to learn the lessons from the accident, seriously identify the causes of the accident, thoroughly investigate the risks and hazards and rectify them.

The Ministry also asked local departments to be aware of the high risk of coal mine production, learn from the lessons and stay alert. Departments were asked to further tighten supervision and monitoring to prevent serious accidents from occurring.

In addition to the working group sent by the Ministry of Emergency Management, 24 vehicles and 96 people from the local fire rescue team as well as 3 vehicles and 14 people from the National Mine Emergency Rescue Jingyuan Team participated in the rescue at the accident site.

An investigation is under way to determine the causes of the accident.

Coal mine production safety has always been a matter of great concern in China. In recent years, mine production safety has a positive trend. Data show that in 2021, the number of accidents and fatalities in mines nationwide fell by 15.8 percent and 13.9 percent respectively year-on-year.

However, in March 2022, the Ministry of Emergency Management said that the situation of mine safety remains serious and complex in the face of surging prices of minerals and the relative concentration of resumption of production.

In July, five coal mine accidents resulting in casualties occurred in China as of Sunday, killing a total of 15 people.

Global Times