14 dead, 2 trapped after Guizhou coal mine blast

Fourteen miners were found dead and two others remained trapped underground after a coal mine in Guizhou province was stricken by a coal and gas outburst early Tuesday, according to authorities.

The accident happened at around 1:30 am on Tuesday at Guanglong Coal Mine in Anlong county, when 23 miners were working underground. Seven workers were lifted to safety after the accident.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Emergency Management, 100 rescuers were dispatched to the site to look for those trapped.

Huang Ming, Party chief of the ministry, and two vice-ministers of the top emergency watchdog, gave instructions to officials and rescuers via a video call on Tuesday.

A ministry work team also arrived at the site to facilitate rescue and investigation work.

The statement urged local authorities to determine the cause of the accident as soon as possible and vowed to severely punish those responsible if serious violations are found.

It also asked local authorities across the country to learn from the incident and comb through workplaces in their jurisdictions to rule out safety hazards.

With an annual output capacity of 450,000 metric tons, the coal mine was found with seven safety hazards when the local coal mine safety administration inspected it before National Day, which fell on Oct 1, according to the Anlong county government.