Families of Chinese miners angered by lack of info

By GREG BAKER – 8 hours ago

GUJIAO, China (AP) — Mining authorities promised Monday to compensate the families of 74 workers who were killed in a series of explosions in China's deadliest mine disaster in a year, the official news agency said.

Rescuers pulled hundreds of workers to safety following the blasts early Sunday in a shaft of the Tunlan Coal Mine in Shanxi province.

Rescue operations were called off Monday with all workers accounted for, officials said.

Of the more than 300 rescued from the Tunlan mine in Gujiao, near the provincial capital of Taiyuan, 114 remained in the hospital, five of them in critical condition, a Shanxi government spokesman said on condition of anonymity, citing policy.

Xinhua News Agency said provincial mining authorities set aside 28 million yuan ($4 million) for compensation. Families of dead miners would receive at least 200,000 yuan ($29,000) and their children would get compensation until they turn 18.

The mine belongs to the state-run Shanxi Coking Group and had boasted an excellent safety record, with no major accidents in five years. The company is the world's second-largest producer of coking coal, used in the production of steel.

Relatives of some of the miners complained the company had released very little information. They were sent to a shabby guesthouse where they were "told to wait," said Qiu Jiong, the brother-in-law of a miner.

"No one would receive me or tell me anything," said Lu Tangyao, whose 38-year-old son was killed.

Three top mining officials were removed from their posts, Xinhua reported.

The death toll was the highest from a China coal mine accident since December 2007, when gas exploded in a tunnel in Linfen city, also in Shanxi province, killing 105 miners.

Beijing has promised for years to improve mine safety, and more than 1,000 dangerous small mines were closed last year. But China's mining industry remains the world's deadliest.

About 3,200 people died in coal mine accidents last year, a 15 percent decline from the previous year.

Associated Press researcher Zhao Liang contributed to this story in Beijing.

A woman is assisted by family and friends as she grieves for her 18-year-old son, who was killed in a mine explosion, at the Tunlan Coal Mine in Gujiao, in China's Shanxi province, Monday, Feb. 23, 2009. Officials called off rescue efforts at the mine Monday, a day after an explosion killed at least 74 miners. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)