China

Money Put Before Safety in Chinese Mines

20-21 miners, number disputed from several sources, were killed in an apparent gas leak. The incident happened early on Thursday at the Sizhuang mine in Yunnan province’s Qujing city. The mine has been operating illegally due to its license being suspended last year because of safety issues. Rescue worker have been working around the click to find the remaining works, but no survivors have been found thus far. Some reports state that the gas leak lead to an explosion with the mine causing the rest of the workers to become trapped. This accident followed another tragedy in a Chinese mine. The central government has been fighting to make mines more safe and shutting down the ones operating illegally.

In the in-region website it was stated that the mine in Sizhuang county made up 65% of the county’s industry and accounted for 54% of its GDP last year. Yet it failed to mention anything of the mines illegality and poor safety standards. This leads me to believe that even though the mine has its operating license taken away and was running under poor conditions that money and jobs trump those facts. Money does hold power and it may lead to lost and destroyed lives. Even illegal mine death total in the thousands for china, money holds the greatest power still. This makes mining in China one of the worlds most deadliest jobs.

Realist

http://www.china.org.cn/china/2011-11/10/content_23875488.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-15688020

November 11, 2011 at 01:34 am