Cost of mine rescue: 100 million
- Source: Global Times
- [03:21 April 12 2010]
- Comments
Medical workers inspect a rescued miner at a hospital affiliated to Shanxi Medical University on Saturday. Miners at the hospital are doing well, officials said. Photo: CFP
The death toll in the flooded Wangjialing coal mine in North China's Shanxi Province increased to 33 after rescuers pulled out one more dead body Sunday afternoon.
Rescuers are still searching for the five miners who remained missing, the Xinhua News Agency reported Sunday.
There were 261 workers in the mineshafts located nearly 1,000 meters underground when the mine was flooded on March 28. Among them, 108 were able to escape, and 153 were trapped.
Rescuers lifted out 115 miners last Monday after launching the operation over a week ago.
The China National Radio (CNR) reported that the rescue operation has cost more than 100 million yuan ($14 million), without elaborating in details.
The report said the mine was scheduled to start operation in October, producing high quality coal that cost 1,000 yuan ($146) per ton, three times more expensive than the price of normal coal.
It added that the reconstruction of the coal mine will take at least a few months.
Huang Yi, deputy director of the State Administration of Coal Mine Safety and spokesman of the State Administration of Work Safety, said Friday that the authority would gradually release the names of rescued miners.
With no name list released as yet, families of the miners remain unaware of whether their loved ones have survived or not, although the Changjiang Daily had earlier compiled an unofficial list of 71 rescued miners.
