Safety regulation violation behind deadly silver mine accident in China

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Safety regulation violation behind deadly silver mine accident in China

China is raising concerns about workplace safety issues after a deadly incident at its largest silver mine on Feb 23, 2019.

CGTN’s Su Xiaoxiao reports.

In East Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, a local blood center was packed with local residents.

They were here to offer help to the injured miners rescued from a nearby silver mine where 21 people were killed.

Blood donor Shen Liwen, says he knew the accident through media reports, and he told CGTN that “As long as I can save a family, I will do that, making a little donation”.

Within hours of the incident, the blood bank received more than 100,000 milliliters of blood to help those who were injured.

On Feb 23, a bus, carrying 50 miners, lost control after its brakes failed and crashed into the side of an underground tunnel. Many of the miners are still hospitalized.

China’s Emergency Management Ministry said on Feb 24 that the company violated safety regulations.

It says the bus was purchased on the internet without safety permits. And it was overloaded when the crash occurred.

According to emergency officials, last February, the company received work safety warnings after a risk evaluation.

In 2016, the company reported a work accident in which one person killed.

The Chinese government is working to reduce safety issues on the job.

Last year, China established the Ministry of Emergency Management to deal with major accidents and disasters.

Beijing says the number of deaths from work accidents nationwide dropped by 33 percent in 2018.

To maintain that momentum, the Inner Mongolian authority on Feb 24, 2019, to ordered work safety checks throughout the region.