Death toll in China coal firm office rises to 26; at least 38 injured
BEIJING - A fire that erupted in the office of a coal company in northern China has now killed 26 people, state media said on Thursday, raising the death toll from the latest in a series of deadly accidents to befall the coal industry.
President Xi Jinping, on a trip to the United States, urged the authorities to ensure more safety measures are put in place to avoid such incidents, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.
At least 38 people were injured in the blaze, which broke out at 6:50 a.m. at the four-storey Yongju Coal Industry Joint Building in the country's top coal-producing hub of Shanxi. Calls to the company were not answered.
State broadcaster CCTV initially reported that the fire had killed 11 people and injured at least 51.
Police have detained several people for questioning, CCTV said, adding that the cause of the blaze was being investigated.
China's State Council has dispatched a team to the scene to guide the rescue and emergency response work, CCTV said.
China's coal producers are under scrutiny for a series of accidents in mines in recent months, which has weighed on production as mines stop work for safety inspections.
In April, 29 people were killed as a fire ripped through a hospital in Beijing, leading to criticism of local authorities on social media sites.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Showroom
Education: Consulting with member companies to obtain the optimal benefits from their B-BBEE spending, skills resources as well as B-BBEE points
VISIT SHOWROOM
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
