A landslide interrupted the search operation in China, after the the collapse of a section of an open-pit coal mine which claimed the lives of at least two workers and buried more than fifty others, the state news agency New China reported today.

More than 900 members of rescue crews were operating at the coal mine in Alsa, a remote area in the western part of Inner Mongolia (north), according to the same source.

At least two people died and six others were injured, but the death toll is at risk of becoming much higher, as 53 people are still missing after the accident, which happened yesterday Wednesday around 13:00 (local time; 07:00). 00 Greek time).

The operation to free the mine workers suspended due to a “large landslide” yesterday evening, China News reported.

“We had no choice but to stop the rescue operation,” an official coordinating the operation told Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

“Workers and vehicles” were suddenly “buried” at noon on Wednesday when part of the mine, operated by Xinjing Coal Mining Company, collapsed, CCTV noted.

“I would die”

Inner Mongolia is a major contributor to China’s coal production.

The causes of the tragedy are not known at this stage. There was no response today to AFP’s repeated calls to Xinjing Coal Mining Company.

Video uploaded to social media sites — taken by a coal truck driver — shows huge rocks rolling down a hillside, kicking up clouds of dust and crushing vehicles.

“The whole slope collapsed (…) How many people were killed?” a male voice is heard saying off-screen. “If I was in line down there today, I’d die too.”

President Xi Jinping last night ordered local authorities to “do everything possible” to find “and rescue the missing people,” according to CCTV.

The area where the tragedy unfolded is sparsely populated and its economy relies heavily on coal mining.

Frequent accidents

Mine safety has improved in recent years in China, as has media coverage of disasters in the sector; in the past, many such tragedies were hushed up.

But accidents in the sector remain frequent, due to the inherent danger of this activity, as well as due to improvisations in several cases regarding the implementation of occupational safety measures.

In late December, 40 people were working in gold mine galleries when parts of it collapsed in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (northwest). The 22 managed to be rescued.

In December 2021, two workers trapped in a flooded coal mine in Shaanxi (North) died; 20 others were rescued.

And in September 2021, 19 miners who were also trapped in the bowels of the earth in Qinghai province (northwest) were found dead, after long searches.