A mining accident in Leshan, Sichuan province, southwest China, on Wednesday resulted in the deaths of seven people, with one more still trapped, according to state media. The incident occurred around 10:00 a.m. while workers were closing a ventilation shaft at a coal mine.
State broadcaster CCTV reported that eight people were initially trapped, and by 2:00 p.m., seven bodies had been recovered. Rescue operations are ongoing to locate the remaining trapped individual.
While mine safety in China has seen improvements in recent decades, incidents like this continue to occur, particularly in sites with inadequate safety measures.
This follows a major disaster in February of the previous year, where a collapse at an open-pit coal mine in Inner Mongolia resulted in at least 53 people being reported dead or missing after a two-week search.
The report underscores the ongoing challenges in maintaining safety standards in China’s mining industry.
