On the evening of May 19th, a sudden water infiltration accident occurred in a coal mine in Baiyin City, Gansu Province, resulting in 3 people being trapped and losing contact. As of 1 pm on May 20th, the 3 trapped individuals were found, but unfortunately, all had perished.
According to reports from China Central Television (CCTV), at 19:43 on May 19th, a dangerous water infiltration incident occurred at the No. 2-204 working face of the Wangjiashan Coal Mine Branch Company of Gansu Jingmei Energy in Pingchuan District, Baiyin City, Gansu Province. At that time, there were a total of 133 people at the operation site, with 130 being safely evacuated while 3 remained trapped and out of contact.
Following the water infiltration incident, a large amount of coal slurry surged on-site, even submerging the transportation haulage route momentarily. Preliminary estimates by on-site personnel indicated that approximately 510 cubic meters of coal slurry had surged out. The precise location systems of the 3 missing individuals showed that they were just beyond this coal slurry.
Gao Yaoquan, the Deputy Chief Engineer of Safety at Gansu Jingmei Energy Limited, stated that the vertical depth from the ground at the incident site was 610 meters. 69 personnel had been deployed for rescue efforts, but due to the narrow section of the underground tunnels, the cleanup was proving to be quite challenging.
As of 13:02 on May 20th, all 3 trapped miners had been located, unfortunately without any signs of life.
While the No. 2-204 working face is a newly installed coal mining site this year, having only been put into operation on May 11th with a current progress of just 4 meters, the No. 1 shaft is an old mine shaft.
According to a previous post by the Wangjiashan Coal Mine Branch Company of Jingmei Energy on their WeChat public account, the company had just held a special safety production meeting on May 15th.
Gansu Jingmei Energy Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gansu Energy Chemical Co., Ltd. Gansu Energy Chemical is the first coal listed company in Northwest China, serving as the only coal listed platform in the state-owned system of Gansu Province.