Death toll rises in China mine collapse as rescue efforts continue
Rescue workers gather at the site.
By Xiaofei Xu and Irene Nasser, CNN
Search and rescue operations continued in northern China Thursday, after a collapsed coal mine left at least five dead and dozens trapped.
Chinese state media reported that six were injured and 48 people remain missing as of Thursday evening.
The incident took place Wednesday in Alxa League in Inner Mongolia when a 180-meter (590-foot) tall slope gave way above the open-pit mine, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
The rescue operation was halted overnight due to a massive landslide near the site Wednesday evening, with efforts still blocked as of early Thursday morning — though state media reported in the afternoon that operations were “ongoing.”
More than 470 rescue workers have been working at the scene, alongside 40 medical workers, team leader Wei Zhiguo told CCTV from the scene. An additional 200-member team has also been mobilized, he said.
Firefighters, rescue dogs and trucks have also been mobilized from across the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.
“I had just started work at 1:15 in the afternoon when I realised that rocks were falling from the mountain,” one hospitalized miner told CCTV on Thursday, as quoted by Reuters.
“I saw that the situation was getting more and more serious, and an evacuation was organized, but it was too late, the mountain just collapsed.”
“We must make every possible effort to rescue the missing persons and treat the injured,” said Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Wednesday.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called for an immediate investigation into the cause of the accident, according to the news agency.
The collapsed coal mine is owned by Xinjing Coal Mining Company and is located in the town of Alxa League.
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