China has set a goal of reducing coal mine fatalities by 3.5
percent year-on-year in 2006, announced the head of the state work
safety watchdog in Beijing on Sunday.
The country will also reduce the number of accidents by 7
percent this year, said Li Yizhong, director of the State
Administration of Work Safety (SAWS).
"Given the grave situation, we did not set an ambitious goal,
"said Li, adding "even this will take a great effort to
realize."
Chinese coal mines are considered to be the deadliest in the
world. China reported over 3,300 accidents which killed nearly
6,000 miners in 2005.
Li said China will strengthen the work safety management in all
kinds of coal mines this year, especially in the large state-owned
coal mines. More efforts will be made in preventing underground
coal mine flooding and gas explosion, he stressed.
According to SAWS, China will take declining of the death rates
in coal mines, traffic accidents and other production accidents as
an important measure in examining the work of local authorities in
2006.
(Xinhua News Agency February 6, 2006)
