 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Beijing (AFP) Oct 13, 2010 Internet users in China slammed the country's notoriously bad mine safety record on Wednesday as across the world in Chile, the historic rescue of 33 miners trapped underground for 68 days unfolded. "Lucky people who were born in Chile... If it was us, we would definitely have been buried alive and died," one user said on popular web portal sohu.com. "Chile's rescue operation has humiliated China. Think about it, so many Chinese workers die in mining disasters," added another. The first of 33 workers trapped underground in Chile for a record 10 weeks were pulled out Wednesday in scenes broadcast live around the world, including on Chinese state television. The Asian nation's mining sector is notoriously dangerous -- last year, 2,631 miners were killed, according to official statistics, but independent labour groups say the true figure is likely to be much higher. The high fatality rate is generally blamed on inefficiency and corruption in the sector, with coal mining particularly accident-prone. In some cases, officials have been accused of covering up the real number of victims. Even when 115 miners were rescued from a flooded mine in northern China in April, relatives complained they had initially been kept in the dark as to whether their loved ones were part of that lucky batch or the 38 who died. "We know who every person rescued is when they come up (in Chile), it's so transparent. In China, it's just not comparable," one web user from the central city of Changsha said on web portal sina.com. "China's leaders spend all their time in hotels, brothels, bars and banks, so where do they find the time to look after the lives of ordinary people and workers?" another netizen said on Sohu. The government regularly pledges to clean up safety problems in its mines. In July, Premier Wen Jiabao lamented the nation's "serious" work safety situation, ordering mining bosses to work side-by-side with workers in the pits to ensure that companies more closely observe safety rules. However deadly accidents are still routine.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters A world of storm and tempest When the Earth Quakes
Model Aims To Reduce Disaster Toll On City's Social, Economic FabricWest Lafayette, IN (SPX) Oct 08, 2010 Researchers have created a computer model that predicts how a disaster's impact on critical infrastructure would affect a city's social and economic fabric, a potential tool to help reduce the severity of impacts, manage the aftermath of catastrophe and fortify infrastructure against future disasters. "The model works for any type of disaster that influences the infrastructure," said Makar ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook
