Shandong Iron Mine Accident Being Investigated

JINAN, Mar. 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese work safety authority said Saturday investigation of the fatal iron mine accident in eastern Shandong Province is going on and the result will be publicized timely.

The State Administration of Work Safety said the accident happened at about 1 a.m. when an elevator cage suddenly dropped to a shaft bottom with a depth of 270 meters after the hanging steel wirerope unexpectedly cracked, leaving 13 workers inside the cage dead.

The accident has exposed many problems such as lack of safety awareness, disorderly management, ignorance of safety measures, and unefficient maintainance of work facilities.

The iron mine shafts are operated by Jigang Group Co., Ltd., which was authorized the project in 2006 with an annual output of 1.2 million tons of iron ore.

The Work Safety Commission of the State Council is supervising the investigation of the accident and the handling result will be publicized timely, according to the State Administration of Work Safety.

The safety watchdog demanded all the non-coal mines strictly practise the regular safety checks of underground operations and enhance the quality of facilities such as wireropes, cages and tunnels.