Coal miners in the sleepy Chinese county of Qinyuan sometimes dine at Zhang’s skewer eatery, especially on payday, so a gas explosion that killed at least 82 of these workers left her feeling sorrow for their bereaved families.
The tragedy unfolded in northern Shanxi province, with preliminary findings showing that the company operating the mine had committed ‘serious’ violations, state media reported on Saturday.
The blast caused China’s worst mining disaster in 17 years, with search efforts ongoing to find two people still missing, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
A total of 247 workers were underground at the time of the blast, which occurred at 7:29 pm (local time) on Friday at the Liushenyu coal mine, according to state news agency Xinhua.
“This is the first time such a big accident has happened here,” Zhang, who only wanted to be known by her surname, said.
“Many of these men were their families’ main source of income," she also said.
“Think about it. He is at that age when he has both elderly parents and young children to support. Then he works in the coal mine, goes down the shaft and never comes back up,” Zhang added.
Security officers sat by the kerb, strictly guarding the gantry of the roads, only allowing authorised vehicles in. Ambulances and police cars entered.
A security guard at the entrance brushed off AFP’s questions as to whether any progress in rescue efforts had been made, saying that he didn’t know anything.
But the guard said again that he hadn’t slept at all Friday night because he had been too busy with people coming in and out.
At a gas station near the mine, workers shooed AFP journalists away when they were asked about the mining disaster.
“We can’t just casually comment on these things,” one man said without giving his name.
“We are not aware of the details. We don’t know the exact cause or the specific situation,” he said.
He continued saying that he hoped the number of deaths wasn't that high before he hurried back inside the station.
At another restaurant selling Sichuan cuisine, a worker with the surname Li stated that he had noticed ambulances whizzing by his place, which was frequently patronised by coal mine workers. But he hadn’t been too emotionally affected, even though the death toll had initially surprised him.
“Working in a coal mine, this kind of accident is inevitable,” he mentioned, adding that he hoped the missing people would be found soon.
“A total of 128 people were sent to hospital for treatment,” CCTV reported.
Authorities cordoned off one of the hospitals that took in people injured in the mine tragedy with tape.
Qinyuan county is peppered with coal mines, and outside one an electronic sign reads, ‘Go to work happy; go home safely.'
Zhang, grilling meat skewers on a stove, said she wished for the missing miners to be found safe and sound.
“Even if the pay was good, coal miners were basically earning money with their lives at risk," she lamented.
She expressed hope that authorities would do all they could to prevent accidents like this and increase mine safety.
Zhang mentioned she feels for families who lost loved ones in the mine explosion.
“He is also someone’s son, someone’s father, someone’s husband,” she said further.
