Explosion in gold mine traps 22 workers underground in China
12 January 2021
An explosion in east China's Shandong province trapped 22 workers underground in a gold mine on January 10. The blast happened at around 14:00 local time, however local authorities were not made aware of the incident until the evening of January 11. As of January 12, the workers remain trapped.
Representative image: Shutterstock
The blast happened at a gold mine operated by Shandong Wucailong Investment Co. Ltd. in Xicheng Township of Qixia City. Chinese news sites report that local authorities were not told of the incident at first because of damage caused to communication equipment at the mine.
Local authorities began sending rescue workers to the site on January 11 and have started a rescue operation to find the trapped miners. News site CGTN reports that over 300 rescue workers with rescue equipment were attending the scene as of 10:00 on January 12.
Rescuers have been unable to make contact with the trapped workers due to the damage caused by the blast and the toxic gas that is present in the mine.
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