AS the death toll in illegal Chinese coal mines hits the lowest recording in 14 years, the industry remains a major source of workplace fatalities, according to the administration of work safety.
413,700 accidents and 91,172 deaths were reported for 2008, marking a 10% reduction on 2007 figures and first time reported mining fatalities have fallen below 100,000.
Coal safety administration supervisor, Zhao Tiechui, says the lower numbers follow concerted efforts to close down illegal mines and improve law enforcement.
Government figures estimate that 80% of China's 16,000 coal mines are operating illegally. The work safety administration closed 1,054 illegal mines in 2008 and plans to shut a further 1,000 this year. However, experts say the target to bring the number of illegal mines below 10,000 is a “difficult job”.
While illegal mines produced about 35% of the nation’s coal in 2008, Tiechui notes they also accounted for 73% of the industry’s mining deaths.
"Coal mines often experience the most serious accidents because so many of them are operating illegally. The industry also sees the most frequent covering-up of accidents," he said.
Almost 3,500 officials were investigated and 425 arrested throughout 2008 for negligence in relation to mining accidents. According to Tiechui, more initiatives will be launched throughout 2009 to further reduce accident rates and protect the lives of workers.
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