A gas explosion occurred around 11 a.m. on March 6, 2007 at Hongfa coalmine in Shaodong County, Shaoyang City, Hunan Province. Thirty-two miners were underground when the accident happened. By 7 p.m. on March 8, 17 miners had escaped and 15 miners had died.
The shareholders of the coalmine and the relevant management officers fled the scene after the blast, according to Shaodong county authorities,
Reportedly, the Hongfa coal mining operation had been suspended since August 7, 2006 due to an expired coal production license and lack of a mining safety permit. However after the Chinese New Year, the shareholders of the coal mine organized maintenance in underground mine without authorization, which led to the gas explosion.
The Hongfa coalmine, where a gas explosion on March 8, 2007, killed at least fifteen miners. The Epoch Times
