2 Coal mine disasters Kill 3, trap 40 in China

Rescuers were racing against time to reach 40 miners buried underground in two separate coal mine disasters which have already killed three people in south China. Work crew operated at least 17 pumps at Niupeng Mine in rural Guizhou Province to release water from the flooded mine before rescuers could be sent down the pit, China''s News Agency (Xinhua) reported. Over a thousand police, firemen, and para-military have been mobilized to join the rescue, said Mao Youzhi, head of the county government of Pingtang, where the coal mine is located. The flooding occurred when 29 miners were working at two shafts of Niupeng Mine. Eight workers have already been back to the ground safe, the official said. In a separate mining disaster, three people were killed while 19 others remain trapped after part of a coal mine in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region collapsed. Rescuers said it is difficult to reach the miners, trapped at a depth of 390 meters, because the size of the cave-in earth was huge, or about 7,000 cubic meters. Another 50 miners who were working underground at the time of the cave-in have managed to escape. Gas explosions, floods and fires were frequent occurrences in China's coal mines. The casualty of coal mine disasters was on the decline over the past few years after the government put in place a series of strict rules to ensure mining safety.