Coal mine accident kills one, injures two in Vietnam

A mining accident has killed one miner and injured two others in a coal mine in northern Vietnam as the workers were consolidating the ceiling of the mine, an official said Monday May 28. The accident took place Sunday in Cam Thanh Coal Mine run by Ha Long Coal Co in Quang Ninh province, 150 kilometres east of Hanoi, when soil from the ceiling of the mine suddenly collapsed on the miners.

“There were three miners working in the mine at the time of the accident and one of them was buried to death,” said Nguyen Viet Ngu, director of the company.

The other two miners were rescued soon after the accident and they suffered from small scratches. The body of miner Do Van Phuong, 22, was found a few hours later.

“This is the first fatal accident that has happened to my company for a long time,” said Ngu, adding that an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the accident.

Mining accidents have killed at least 14 workers in Vietnam since the beginning of this year, with most being in Quang Ninh, the largest coal mining area in the country with a reserve of approximately 10 billion tonnes.

Last year, Vietnam produced 40 million tonnes and exported 21 million tonnes of coal, mainly to Japan, China and the EU.

 

Category: ResourceAsia