Death toll rises to 43 in southwest China colliery blast

Death toll in Wednesday's colliery blast in southwest China's Sichuan Province has risen to 43, said Yang Dongliang, head of the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS), on Saturday. Yang told an investigation team meeting that rescuers were reaching out to the location of the last three miners trapped in the Xiaojiawan Coal Mine in Panzhihua City, some 750 km southwest of Chengdu, capital of Sichuan. According to Xinhua, the mine was struck by a gas blast at around 6 p.m. Wednesday, trapping about a third of the 154 miners who were working underground and injuring 54 others, including 17 in serious condition. Yang said the priority of the rescue team is to search for the trapped miners. In the meantime, medical workers have been asked to treat those injured with all-out efforts. He promised that the accident will be probed in a thorough, serious and scientific manner, and those who are found responsible will receive due punishment. An initial investigation indicated that chaotic management and sheer ignorance of safety measures in the mine, owned by Zhengjin Industry and Trade Co., Ltd., were mainly to blame for the accident, Yang said.