Northeast China Coal Mine Accident Kills 9, Injures 10 After Earthquake

Chinese coal miners load coal into trucks in a mine in southwestern China's Sichuan Province, on Dec. 10, 2009. (AFP/Getty Images)

BEIJING—A coal mine accident in China’s northeastern Jilin Province that occurred in the late hours on June 9 left nine dead and 10 injured, said a local district government in a statement.

That makes for the third fatal mining accident in China in less than a month, indicating poor safety conditions in the country’s mines despite frequent inspections

The accident occurred following a minor earthquake measured at 2.3 magnitude, according to the statement.

The coal mine is operated by Longjiapu Mining Co, a subsidiary of state-backed Liaoyuan Mining Group, and has an annual capacity of 3.3 million tons.

Production at Longjiapu has been halted after the accident, and as yet there is no timeline for a restart, a representative of the coal mine told Reuters.

Thermal coal prices on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange rose 0.9 percent to 587 yuan ($84.67) a ton on June 10.

Scores of Chinese miners die each year, largely in gas explosions, underground floods and collapses due to structural defects.

In February, thousands of locals in Rong County, Sichuan Province swarmed the streets in front of the county government offices to protest “earthquakes” that they believe are manmade.

The quakes have caused at least four deaths and many injuries in the county, according to locals. Residents blame the extraction of shale gas in the area for triggering the disasters.

In October 2018, two people died and 18 were trapped in a coal mine in eastern Shandong Province after a rock burst destroyed part of a mining tunnel.

An explosion on May 9 at a small coal mine in Hunan Province killed two workers.

By Muyu Xu. The Epoch Times and The Associated Press contributed to this report.