Fears over new mine accidents

The country's top work safety agency has warned of a new wave of accidents as collieries that were forced to close because of the severe cold start operating again.

The buildup of deadly gases, flooding and unstable power supply at the mines could all cause problems, a statement posted on the website of the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) said.

"Because of the effects of the weather, many coal mines lost power and had to shut. Others closed over the Lunar New Year holiday, and small mines are starting to open again after the vacation, putting huge pressures on safety," it said.

"The safety situation is much more serious than in previous years."

In the southern provinces of Jiangxi, Hunan, Guizhou and Yunnan, which have been hit hard by the recent snow and ice storms, close to 1,800 mines had accumulated gas due to power cuts, and a further 600 mines had been flooded, the statement said.

"Power supply to coal mines in disaster-hit provinces are not operating normally, leading to many hidden dangers," it added.

Earlier this month, nine people died in an explosion at a coal mine in northern China, as the government ordered scores of pits to stay open to alleviate a national power shortage brought on by the bad weather. Accidents at coal mines claimed about 3,700 lives last year.

In a related development, the SAWS has denied claims that current coal shortage was due to the closure of small, illegal pits.

"China is not short of coal as the country turned out 2.53 billion tons last year, a rise of 8.2 percent year on year. Output could jump by 3.3 percent this year", said SAWS spokesman Huang Yi.

The campaign against the illegal collieries is aimed at those without production permits, working under risky conditions. The shutdown of 11,155 small coal mines in the past two years has helped prevent mine accidents, Huang said in an online interview over the weekend.

Among the suspended collieries, up to 8,000 have merged with larger mines. The output of small coal mines still account for a third of the national total, or close to 900 million tons, the same amount before the reshuffle, Huang said.

The current strain on coal supplies is temporary and regional, he said.

The heavy snow since mid-January, the worst in 50 years in many regions, has paralyzed transportation, frozen power grids and caused serious economic losses.

Coal mines nationwide are being urged to boost production to ensure power supply in disaster-hit regions. The government has also ordered railway networks to give top priority to coal transportation for power generation.