Miscellaneous

Citation

(2003), "Miscellaneous", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 12 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.2003.07312aac.004

Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous

15 January 2002 – Leakage of natural gas, coal mine, China

A total of 18 coal miners suffocated when natural gas flooded their mine in southern China, a local official said today. The disaster in Loudi, a city in Hunan province, occurred last night, said the official of the city mine bureau. The area is about 900 miles south of Beijing. Thousands of Chinese coal miners are killed every year in accidents, often in small, unlicensed mines that lack fire and ventilation equipment. The mine in Loudi, owned by the city government, was properly licensed and had a good safety record, said the official, who gave only his surname, Fu. The miners were killed when they broke open a vein of gas that left them without air to breathe, Fu said. He said there were 30 men in the mine at the time, and 12 escaped.

16 January 2002 – Collapse of Coltan Mine, Goma area, Democratic Republic of Congo

A mine has collapsed in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least 30 people; three bodies have been recovered from the mine but as many as 36 others are still buried under the debris, a week after the collapse. The Bibapama 2 coltan mine, 60km south-west of Goma, is under the control of the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD) rebels. Coltan is used to make pinhead capacitors, which regulate voltage and store energy in mobile phones and many Congolese have switched from farming to work in the far more lucrative coltan mines. Local sources have said that many of the victims were traders, selling food and other supplies to the miners and that the mine had collapsed following heavy rains. The spread of mobile phones across the world in recent years has led to a coltan boom in eastern DR Congo, home to 80 percent of the world's coltan reserves.

25 January 2002 – Flooded coal mine, Barroteran, Mexico

The bodies of three Mexican miners were recovered and ten were missing and presumed dead yesterday after an accident flooded a small coal mine in northern Mexico, trapping the miners 200 feet below ground: four divers and about 150 other rescue workers battled black water and collapsed tunnels in an attempt to pull bodies from La Espuelita mine in Barroteran, about 90 miles south-west of the Texas border city of Eagle Pass. The accident occurred on Wednesday (23 January). The mine was a privately owned operation known as a pocito, where thin seams of coal are mined using outmoded methods that generally violate Mexican safety standards, the San Antonio Express-News reported. The mine transported workers on a cable down a small shaft that also was used to deliver coal to the surface. Mines with single vertical shafts are illegal in most countries, including Mexico, because they offer no escape route if the shaft becomes blocked. Local police spokesman Sergio Robles Garza told Mexico's state news agency Notimex that rescuers were frantically digging to try to reach those still in the mine. Authorities have not determined the cause of the accident, but rescuers and mine veterans said miners digging for coal likely broke through to an adjacent abandoned tunnel that had flooded.

25 February 2002 – Collapse of building, Damietta, Egypt

A bride and groom have died after a five-storey building collapsed in Egypt. Rescue workers and police cordoned off the collapse site in Damietta and are searching through the debris for survivors: eight people are reported dead and another 15 injured. It was not clear how many people were in the building or what caused the collapse. Several brides and grooms were reported to be in a hair salon in the building when it came down, together with friends and family members. Police said a bride and a groom were among the dead. It was not clear if they were a couple. The injured were treated in serious condition at the Damietta General Hospital, Egypt's Middle East News Agency reported. The ageing building had stood along the Nile in the centre of the town.

26 February 2002 – Rescue workers at a five-storey building collapse have retrieved the bodies of 20 people killed in the accident, police said today. Also, 15 people have been reported injured in the accident in Damietta, 105 miles north of Cairo, yesterday, officials said. It was not clear how many people were in the building or what caused the collapse. The injured were taken to Damietta General Hospital and were in serious condition, Egypt's Middle East News Agency reported. The ageing building fronted the Nile in the town centre.

14 March 2002 – Collapse of septic tank, Lucknow, India

At least 23 job applicants were killed when they fell into an underground septic tank at a recruitment centre in northern India, police said. The victims were queueing for health checks today at a defence services centre in Lucknow, capital of the state of Uttar Pradesh, when the ground gave way beneath them. "This happened early in the morning when thousands of people had turned up for recruitment when an underground septic drain collapsed", Lucknow district police chief B.B. Bakshi said. Police fear the death toll could be higher. At least 100 people were reported to be standing on the tank when it collapsed. Some 7,000 people were attending the centre hoping to get jobs, according to some estimates. The incident caused panic and anger among the remaining potential recruits. Some were reported to have burned a bus and damaged some passing vehicles, but the police reportedly brought the situation under control. Most of those who died came from areas outside Lucknow.