Angry relatives run riot
01/12/2004 11:02  - (SA)  

Related Articles Missing miners declared dead Mine blast death toll now 63 Hopes fade for trapped miners Gas slows hunt for 141 miners 166 coal miners feared dead Cause of crash still a mystery Four saved from China mine Mine-fire toll rises to 68 Cheating spouses beware

Beijing - Hundreds of angry relatives on Wednesday stormed a government building, smashed windows and beat officials after being told that all 166 workers trapped by a coal mine gas explosion are dead, an official at the scene said.

"They're very angry. They haven't seen their loved ones dead or alive. They want to beat anyone in sight," said Yan Mangxue, party secretary of a nearby village where some dead miners are from, as he cowered inside the building.

"They're demanding government officials come out and give them answers," he told AFP on his mobile phone. He and about 25 officials were trapped inside on the fourth floor of the building.

"The situation is very dangerous," he said, adding that one local official was punched several times and his face was covered in blood.

No hope of finding miners alive

Government officials on Wednesday confirmed there was no hope of finding any of the 166 miners alive, three days after the blast tore through the Chenjiashan Coal Mine in Tongchuan city in Shaanxi province.

Only 65 of the bodies have been retrieved from the shaft.

Up to 800 relatives, some of whom are also miners, marched at around 10:00 to the government office of the local Miaowan township where a command centre had been set up to deal with the accident.

They demanded high level government officials meet them, Yan said.

"When no one came out, 40 to 50 of the protestors stormed the four-story building, smashing the windows and breaking office furniture and equipment," said Yan, who along with other officials had been asked to inform and console relatives on Wednesday.

Thirty soldiers from the army's People's Armed Police unit arrived at the scene and surrounded the protestors outside, said Yan. All police officers from the area have also been dispatched to the riot.

"The families are in negotiations with government leaders," Yan said as protestors yelled "The government doesn't care about people's lives!"

A total of 293 workers were underground at the time and only 127 miners escaped. The accident is China's deadliest in recent history.

Local officials and families said it was directly related to negligence and greed and managers of the state-owned mine ignored dangerous gas levels.

	Discussion Forums |		Newsletters |		Photo Galleries |		Earlier stories